Full text of "Travels amongst the great Andes of the equator"

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OF THE EaUATOR^

Dm-ARD Whymper

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RECEIVED BY GIFT FROM

Dr. E. G, Van Dyke
May 19, 1949

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TRAVELS

AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES

OF THE EQUATOR

THE WHIRLING SNOW MOCKED OUR EFFORTS,

TRAVELS

AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES

OF THE EQUATOR

EDWARD WHYMPER

WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell,
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene,
Where things that own not man's dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne'er, or rarely been ;
To climb the trackless mountain all unseen,

This is not solitude ; 'tis but to hold

Converse with Nature's charms, and see her stores unroH'd.

Byron.

NEW YORK

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

1892

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■c^uFOR^^,

LIBRARY

Press of J. J. Little & Co.
Astor Place, New York

INTRODUCTION

It will be within tlie knowledge of most of those who take up
this book that it has long been much debated whether human
life can be sustained at great altitudes above the level of the
sea in such a manner as will permit of the accomplishment of
useful work/

The most opposite statements and opinions have been advanced
concerning this matter. The extremes range from saying that
fatal results may occur^ and have occurred, from some obscure
cause, at comparatively moderate elevations, down to that no
eifects whatever have been experienced at the greatest heights
which have been attained. Allegations of the latter class may be
set aside for the present, for the evidence is overwhelming that,
from 14,000 feet above the level of the sea and upwards, serious
inconveniences have occurred : that prostration (amounting in the
more extreme cases to incapacitation) has been experienced ; and
that, in some instances, perhaps, even death has resulted through
some cause which operates at great elevations.

This evidence has come from all parts of the world, and has
accumulated during several centuries. It has been afforded, in-
dependently, by multitudes of persons of diverse conditions — by
cultured men of science down to illiterate peasants, the latter of
whom cannot have heard of experiences beyond' their own; and,
although the testimony often differs in detail, it agrees in the

^ In saying this, it is not meant that there is any doubt as to the possibility
of tlie existence of life at great elevations, for aeronauts have several times shewn,
since the commencement of this century, that life may exist, for short periods, at
heights exceeding any as yet discovered upon the earth.

vi INTRODUCTION.

general^ leading features. Nausea and vomiting ; headaches of most
severe character ; feverishness ; hemorrhages ; lassitude^ depression
and weakness, and an indescribable feeling of illness, have been re-
peatedly mentioned as occurring at great elevations, and have only
been cured by descending into lower zones. To these maladies
the term mountain-sickness is now commonly applied.

It is very generally admitted that mountain-sickness should
be attributed to the diminished atmospheric pressure (or, as it is
termed, to the rarefaction of the air) which is experienced as one
goes upward. Yet, in various parts of the world, the notion is, and
has long been entertained, that it is due to local causes, such, for
example, as noxious exhalations from vegetation. Some sujDport to
this notion seems to be found in the fact that whilst the greatest
heights in Europe (15-16,000 feet) are annually ascended by
throngs of persons without perceptible inconvenience, multitudes
of others in Asia and America sulfer acutely at lower elevations
(14-15,000 feet) ; and it would therefore seem that there are influ-
ences at work on the latter continents which do not operate in
Europe. The apparent discordance is explicable without having
recourse to local influences, which could not be deemed sufficient
to account for the eifects in general, even if they might be enter-
tained in particular instances. AYhilst the assumed causes are
local, the observed effects are world-wide ; and no cause would be
adequate to account for the effects except one operating in every
clime and at all times.

But, although it is very generally admitted that the evils which
have been enumerated are due to diminished atmospheric pressure,
many persons are unconvinced that such is the true explanation,
especially those who are accustomed to travel amongst the mount-
ains of Europe ; and it is pointed out, apparently with force, that
the whole of the symptoms can be produced by other causes, and
that aeronauts have sometimes attained higher elevations than have
ever been reached on the earth, and have scarcely been affected
at all. It is argued that some persons are predisposed to nausea.

INTRODUCTION. vii

that others are liable to bleeding at the nose, or habitually suffer
from headache, and that this accounts for much which has been
laid to rarefaction of the air ; and further, it is said, or conjectured,
that the fatigues inseparable from travel in mountain-regions
account for more : in short, that mountain-sickness is to be attri-
buted to the frailties of human nature, or to the imperfections of
individual constitutions, and is considered as a sign, or indication,
of weakness or incompetency.

It is undeniable that there is some truth in these observations,
and it can scarcely be doubted that effects which have been pro-
duced by fatigue have often, wrongly, been attributed to rare-
faction of the air, and that effects which have been produced by
rarefaction of the air have often been assigned to fatigue. The
immunity from unpleasant symptoms which has sometimes been
enjoyed by aeronauts, even when bounding in a few minutes to
enormous elevations,^ has tended to foster scepticism ; and has
appeared to support the opinion that fatigue and personal imper-
fections have had much to do with mountain-sickness, and not to
accord with the view that it is produced by diminished pressure —
otherwise, why should these persons, transported without effort to
superior elevations in the air, have escaped, whilst others, at much
inferior ones upon the earth, suffer ?

It is scarcely necessary to occupy these pages with a mass of

^ The following data are taken from the Reports of Mr. J. Glaisher, F.R.S., to the
British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1862-3 —

Diff. of Time. Diff. of Pressure.
44 min. 14-55 inches.

33 „ 14-62

32 ,, 14-85 „

Starting from the level of the sea, the height attained in each case was about 19,000
feet, without injurious effects being felt. I am not aware that any one, upon the
earth, has ever experienced a natural difference of pressure of fourteen and a half
inches in less than four or five days.

Date.
July 17, 1862

Time.
9.43 a.m.
10.27 „

Barometer.
29-193
14-637 ■

Sept. 5, ,,

5> 5?

1.3 P.M.

1.36 „

29-17 )
14-55 S

April 18, ,,

1.17 „
1.49 „

29-66 /
14-81 S

viii INTRODUCTION,

extracts in support of the foregoing statements. Those who desire
to pursue the matter in detail may usefully turn to the very com-
prehensive summary in La Pression Barometrique, by M. Paul
Bert/ Avhere 156 pages are devoted to experiences in high places,
25 more to aeronauts, and 120 more to theories. Evidence of a
nature similar to that which is quoted by M. Bert continues to
accumulate, and is often, apparently, of a contradictory character.
For example, since returning from the journey which is described
in the following pages, three writers upon Mexico ^ have mentioned
that breathing is affected in that city by the ' rarefied atmosphere,'
although the altitude in question is less than 8000 feet above the
sea ; while on the other hand, quite recently (in speaking of the
Southern Andes up to heights 13,800 feet above the sea). Dr.
A. Plagemann says, " with regard to the effects of rarefied air on
the body at high elevations, neither he nor his companions suffered
at all. ^'^ Still more divergent is the statement by Mr. W. W.
Graham that he reached nearly the height of 24,000 feet in the
Himalayas, and that ^^ neither in this nor in any other ascent did
he feel any inconvenience in breathing other than the ordinary
panting inseparable from any great muscular exertion.^'*

This unique experience has met with little credence in India.

* G. Masson, Paris, 1878. This work has received the highest honours in
France. The experiments made by M. Bert upon himself at low pressures, although
extremely interesting, left off sooner than could have been desired. In the first of
the two experiments which I quote in the Appendix to this volume, he submitted
himself to an artificial diminution of pressure somewhat greater than that which is
experienced at the summit of Chimborazo, and in the second one to about the press-
ure which would be enjoyed on the top of Mount Everest. But this was done for
only a brief space of time. The first experiment extended over only sixty-six minutes
and the second one over eighty-nine minutes ; and, as soon as any ill effects com-
menced to manifest themselves, M. Bert refreshed himself with oxygen. The
experiments shewed that oxygen may exercise a beneficial influence.

2 See A Trip to Mexico, by H. C. R. Becher, Toronto, 1880, p. 73 ; Mexico To-
Day, by T. U. Brocklehurst, London, 1883, p. 28 ; and Winter in the Slant of the
Sun, in Good Words, 1887, p. 245, by the Bishop of Rochester.

3 Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, April 1887, p. 249.

* Proc. Boyal Geog. Soc, August 1884, p. 434.

INTRODUCTION. ix

It is, however, a certain fact that all individuals are not equally
affected by diminished pressure, and that instances have occurred
at such heights as 14-15,000 feet in which some persons have
suffered whilst others have escaped, though the latter have not
been exempt upon mounting to greater altitudes. But whilst this
must be admitted ; and also the probability that the effects of
fatigue have often been wrongly interpreted ; and, further, that
personal frailties are frequently manifested upon mountain ascents,
or at great elevations, there is a large residuum which cannot be
explained away ; and any one examining the matter can hardly
fail to arrive at the conclusion that mountain-sickness is a world-
wide reality.

This subject, long since, appeared to me to be worthy of inves-
tigation for its own sake, more particularly for ascertaining the
heights at which effects begin to manifest themselves ; the symp-
toms ; and whether the effects are permanent. It seemed certain
that, sooner or later, every one must be affected by diminished
pressure, but the manner in which it would operate was uncertain,
and whether its effects would be felt permanently at any given,
elevation was unknown. Those who have been affected by mount-
ain-sickness have always desired to be rid of the infliction, and
have descended to lower levels at the earliest opportunity. Hence
it had not been ascertained whether cures might be effected on the
spot ; or, to put the matter in another way, whether one can be-
come habituated to low pressures. The remarks which have fallen
from those who are most entitled to attention have not been of an
encouraging nature, and it may be inferred from their general tenor
that as the cause is constant and permanent so will the effects be
constant and permanent.

De Saussure, after finding himself through weakness, and diffi-
culty in breathing, unable to make during a four and a half hours'
stay on the summit of Mont Blanc the experiments which he had
repeatedly performed in jess than three hours at the level of the

X INTRODUCTION.

8ea, said he thought it probable that they would never be made at
the higher station.^

Darwin, who visited the Portillo Pass in the Chilian Andes,
although but slightly affected there (at 13-14,000 feet), said, ''cer-
tainly the exertion of walking was extreme, and the respiration
became deep and laborious. It is incomprehensible to me how
Humboldt and others were able to ascend to the elevation, of
19,000 feet/^'

The Schlagintweits attained great heights in Asia, and made
some remarks that are more to the point than any others which I
am able to quote, although they do not go much into detail. In
the second volume of their Results of a Scientific Mission to India
and Higli Asia,^ p. 484, they say, ''As to the beneficial effect of
acclimatisation, we can speak from our own personal experience."'
[By this expression, I understand them to say that they became
somewhat habituated to low pressures.] But they add, in continu-
ation, "what might have been the consequence had we prolonged
our stay in these lofty regions it is impossible to say, the proba-
bility, however, being that a longer sojourn would have told severely
upon our health. "' This is said in connection with an attempt that
they made to ascend Ibi Gamin (Kamet), on Aug. 19, 1855, upon
which occasion they reached the height of 22,230 feet.* In a
Report by them which Avas published at Madras in 1855 (and
was reprinted at Calcutta) there is this further information : —
"At two o'clock at last it had become absolutely impossible to go

J ''Quoique je ne perdisse pas un seul moment, je ne pus faire dans ces 4 heures
& demie toutes les experiences que j'ai frequemment achevees en moins de 3 heures
au bord de la mer," — Voijages dans les Alpes, vol. Iv, p. 148.

" Je conservois I'esperance bien fondee d'achever, sur le Col-du-Geant, ce que je
n'avois pas fait, & que vraisemblablement I'on ne fera jamais sur le Mont-Blanc." —
Id. § 2023, p. 215.

2 Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty^s Ships Adventure and
Beagle, vol. iii, p. 393. ^ London and Leipzig, 1862.

* The height was deduced from observations of mercurial barometer, and it is the
greatest as yet attained upon the earth which has been determined by observations
on the spot.

INTRODUCTION. xi

any higher ; two of our people who had got sick had remained
behind, and we all the rest felt exceedingly tired and exhausted, as
'we certainly never were in our life. . . . We had got much used
to the influence of height, especially during our Thibetan journey,
but up there not one escaped unhurt; we all felt headache/^

To attain results which might be of a more or less conclusive
character, it appeared to me that it would be necessary to eliminate
the complications arising from fatigue, privations, cold, and insuffi-
ciency or unsuitability of food ; that the persons concerned should
have been previously accustomed to mountain work ; that the
heights to be dealt with ought to be in excess of those at which it
had been generally admitted serious inconveniences had occurred ;
and that preparations should be made for a prolonged sojourn at
such elevations.

The Himalayas and their allied ranges offered the best field for
research, and in 1874 I projected a scheme which would have
taken me in the first instances on to the very ground where others
had been placed hors de combat, and from these positions I proposed
to carry exploration and research up to the highest attainable
limits. But, just at the time when it was possible to start, our
rulers entered upon the construction of a ' scientific frontier ' for
India, and rendered that region unsuitable for scientific investiga-
tions. I was recommended by experienced Anglo-Indians to defer
my visit, and I followed their advice. Equally debarred, by the
unhappy dissensions between Chili, Peru, and Bolivia, from travel
amongst the highest of the Andes, I turned to the Eepublic of
Ecuador, the most lofty remaining country which was accessible.

As the main object of the journey was to observe the effects of
low pressure, and to attain the greatest possible height in order to
experience it, Chimborazo naturally claimed the first attention, on
account of its absolute elevation above the sea ; ^ and I proposed to

^ Its height, according to Humboldt, is 21,425 feet. See Recueil cfobservatioris
astronomiques, (^operations trigonometriq^tes, et de mesures tarometriques, par Alex-
andre de Humboldt, Paris, 1810, vol. i, p. Ixxiii (in trod.).

xii INTRODUCTION,

encamp upon this mountain, at gradually increasing heights, with
the ultimate aim of reaching the summit. But as there was no cer-
tainty that this could be done, and a possibility, at least, that the
results of the investigations might be of a negative character,
various other objects were kept in view, principal amongst them
being the determination of the altitudes and of the relative posi-
tions of the chief mountains of Ecuador, the comparison of boiling-
point observations and of aneroids against the mercurial barometer,
and collecting in Botany and Zoology at great heights. I concerned
myself neither with commerce or politics, nor with the natives and
their curious ways ; and there are, besides, many interesting topics
which might be dwelt upon that find no place in this volume.
The Ecuadorian Loan, for example, is a capital subject, and a few
pages might well be devoted to a matter in which the public takes
so much interest, and from which it derives so little.

Having only my own very small means to depend upon, my
staff was necessarily upon the most modest scale. Three assistants
were indispensable, and these I proposed to draw from the mount-
ain-guides of Europe. My old guide, Jean-Antoine Carrel, of Val
Tournanche,^ accepted my proposals, and two others also agreed
to go but withdrew from their engagements shortly before the date
for departure, and placed me in a great difficulty. After vainly
endeavouring to obtain the services of some of the best-known men,
I was obliged to instruct Carrel to bring any one he could. His
cousin Louis (with whom I was already acquainted) came, but no
one else could be procured at so short notice, and a third man had
to be picked up in Ecuador, and proved, naturally, of no service
when a knowledge of mountain-craft was wanted.

It was not advisable to attempt to travel in Ecuador without
recognition, and I sought the good offices of the then President of
the Alpine Club in this matter. I cannot acknowledge too warmly
the cordial co-operation of Mr. Charles Edward Mathews, and the

I For the antecedents of J. -A. Carrel, see Scrambles amongst the Alps, J. Murray,
1871.

INTRODUCTION. xiii

personal trouble he took that my wishes might be efficiently re-
presented in the right quarters. Through his instrumentality, I
was put in communication with the Ecuadorian Consul-General
in Great Britain (Mr. Edmund Heuer of Manchester), and subse-
quently received from His Excellency the President of the Republic
assurance that I should be heartily welcome in his country ; and,
upon application at the Foreign Office, Lord Salisbury was pleased
to direct Her Majesty's representatives at Guayaquil and Quito
to afford every assistance in their power — an instruction which
they interpreted sympathetically. Upon the introduction of Mr.
Mathews, George Dixon, Esq., M.P. for Birmingham, rendered
most valuable service by undertaking to send out in advance
and to place in secure hands at Guaranda and Quito a quantity
of my heavy baggage.

Through my old friend Mr. Douglas Freshfield, the Caucasian
explorer, the projected journey became known to Freiherr von Thiel-
mann, who had recently ridden through Colombia and Ecuador,^
and he most kindly met me at Ostend, to give the benefit of his
experiences ; and from this accomplished diplomatist-traveller it
was communicated to Dr. Alphons Stiibel, of Dresden, who with rare
liberality presented me with a copy of the unpublished altitudes in
Ecuador^ which had been deduced from the observations made by
him in 1871-73 in conjunction with Dr. W. Reiss. Many other
equally friendly services were performed both by friends and
strangers, especially by the fraternity of mountain-travellers, and
amongst the very last communications which reached me, just
before departure, came a cheering bon voyage from the veteran
Boussingault, who forty-eight years earlier had himself endeavoured
to ascend Chimborazo.

Similar good fortune continued on the outward voyage. My
sincere thanks are due to the agents of the Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company, and to the Acting-Consuls at Colon and Panama,

' And made the ascent of Cotopaxi.

* Alturas tomadas en la Repuhlica del Ecuador, Quito, 1873.

xiv INTRODUCTION.

for their undeserved attentions, and particularly to the Right Hon.
H. C. Childers (at that time chairman of the Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company), who most courteously granted me the use of
one of his cabins in order that work might be carried on uninter-
ruptedly. Upon arrival at Guayaquil we were at once received
into the house of Mr. George Chambers, H.B.M.^s Consul, and were
treated with genuine hospitality.

It is now my duty to acknowledge in the most prominent
manner the invaluable services which were rendered throughout
the journey by the cousins Carrel. Travellers are not always
fortunate in their assistants, and, occasionally, even fall out with
them. Under circumstances which were frequently trying, our
party, although exceedingly small, was always closely united. The
imperturbable good temper of the one man, and the grim humour
of the other, were sources of continual satisfaction. I trusted my
person, property, and interests to their care with perfect confidence,
and they proved worthy of the trust, and equal to every demand
which was made upon them.

We travelled through Ecuador unarmed, except with passports
which were never exhibited, and with a number of letters of intro-
duction which for the most part were not presented ; adopting a
policy of non-intervention in all that did not concern us, and
rigidly respecting the customs of the country, even when we could
not agree with them : and traversed that unsettled Republic with-
out molestation, trusting more to our wits than to our credentials,
and believing that a jest may conquer where force will fail, that a
hon-mot is often better than a passport.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

FROM LONDON TO GUARANDA.

ECUADORIAN POLITENESS — GUAYAQUIL — ENGAGE AN INTERPRETER — THE RAINY
SEASON — SOME SNAKE STORIES — RIVER GUAYAS AND ITS TRIBUTARIES — ARRIVE
AT BODEGAS DE BABAHOYO — INDECOROUS BEHAVIOUR OF OUR MULES — ALL
ALIVE AT LA MONA — "THE ROYAL ROAD " — A TROPICAL JUNGLE — ASCENT OF
THE OUTER ANDES — TAMBO LOMA (THE HOTEL ON THE HILL) — SUMMIT OF THE
OUTER RANGE — THE PACIFIC RANGE OF ECUADOR — DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY

OF THE RIVER CHIMBO — ARRIVAL AT GUARANDA MAPS BY LA CONDAMINE AND

DON PEDRO MALDONADO — ROUTE MAP AND MAP OF CHIMBORAZO . PageS 1-18

CHAPTER II.
FROM GUARANDA TO THE FIRST CAMP ON CHIMBORAZO.

A CANDID MAN — INVISIBILITY OF CHIMBORAZO — THE GREAT ARENAL — VISIT TO
TORTORILLAS — THE AUTHORITIES OF GUARANDA — TREASURES ! — FIRST VIEW OF
CHIMBORAZO — DISCOVERY OF ITS TWO SUMMITS — MAGNITUDE OF ITS GLACIERS
— DISCUSSION OF ROUTE — THE SOUTH-WEST RIDGE — THE CARRELS START TO
SELECT A CAMPING-PLACE — PRINCIPAL OBJECT OF THE JOURNEY — HUMBOLDT'S
ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO IN 1802 — BOUSSINGAULT's ATTEMPTS IN 1831
— DIVINE SPEED — DISILLUSIONIZED — COMPARISONS OF THE BAROMETERS — A
HOPE DISSIPATED — EXECUTED INSTANTANEOUSLY — RETURN OF THE CARRELS —
MORE THAN 19,000 FEET HIGH "BY ANEROID " — A PARTING BENEDICTION-
ARRIVAL AT THE FIRST CAMP ON CHIMBORAZO . . . 19-40

CHAPTER III.
THE FIRST ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO.

INGRATITUDE — ROUTE UP THE VALLON DE CARREL — ON MOUNTAIN-SICKNESS —
PLAN OF OPERATIONS — THE COMMISSARIAT — ARRIVAL AT THE SECOND CAMP —
HOBS DE COMBAT — CHLORATE OF POTASH — THE MERITS OF RED WINE — PER-
RING DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF — SYMPTOMS OF MOUNTAIN-SICKNESS — LIFE AT LOW
PRESSURES — REASONS WHY MERCURIAL BAROMETERS ARE BROKEN — PRECAU-
TIONS — STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF THE ANEROIDS — DESCRIPTION OF THE SOUTH-

xvi CONTENTS.

WEST RIDGE — EXPLORATION BY THE CARRELS — MORE THAN 19,000 FEET HIGH
BY MERCURIAL BAROMETER — ESTABLISHMENT OF THE THIRD CAMP — THE OX-
CHEEK OF CHICAGO — A LIBELLOUS STATEMENT — DESERTION OF THE INDIANS
— ARRIVAL AND FLIGHT OF THE GUARD — " THE BONES OF SOME RUMINANT "
— ASSAULT OF THE BREACH — DISCOMFITED — SECOND ATTACK — PASSAGE OF THE
BREACH — ARRIVAL ON THE SUMMIT OF CHIMBORAZO — ITS HEIGHT — DISCORDANT
OBSERVATIONS — SANGAI IN ERUPTION — THE SOUTHERN WALLS — AN ICE-
AVALANCHE — THE RETREAT ..... PageS 41-80

CHAPTER IV.
FROM CHUQUIPOQUIO TO AMBATO, LATACUNGA AND MACHACHI.

FROST-BITTEN — PERRING IS DESPATCHED TO AMBATO — AN ARISTOCRATIC INN-
KEEPER — DESCRIPTION OF THE TAMBO OF CHUQUIPOQUIO — OUR APPETITES FAIL
— HEIGHT OF THE BAROMETER ON CHIMBORAZO — WEATHER ON CHIMBORAZO —
THE BASIN OF RIOBAMBA — DIMENSIONS OF CHIMBORAZO — RETURN OF PERRING
WITH THE LITTER — THE ROBBER OF CHUQUIPOQUIO — THE HIGHWAY TO QUITO
— MEASUREMENT ON THE ROAD — DOCTORED AT AMBATO — VISITS AND VISITORS —
THE DRY SHERRY OF AMBATO — WAGNER's '* ASCENT" OF CHIMBORAZO — MARKET-
DAY — THE PUMICE OF AMBATO — WE CAPTURE A *' BISHOP " — TUNGURAGUA —
THE BASIN OF AMBATO — LATACUNGA — OCCUPATIONS. OF THE LADIES — ARRIVAL
AT MACHACHI— " IT IS ONLY THE ORINGOS'' ... . . 81-99

CHAPTER V.

ON AN ASCENT OF CORAZON, AND WALKS IN THE LANES
OF MACHACHI.

A TRUTHFUL INN-KEEPER — LIFE IN THE INTERIOR — MY YOUNG FRIENDS AT
MACHACHI — GREAT BEDS OF VOLCANIC DUSTS — THE BASIN OF MACHACHI — WE
SEE A DEAD DONKEY AND MEET A SCORPION — LA CONDAMINE's ASCENT OF
CORAZON — DESCRIPTION OF THE SUMMIT — ON " RANGE IN ALTITUDE " — ENTO-
MOLOGY AT GREAT HEIGHTS — HUMBOLDT's YELLOW BUTTERFLY — A ZOOLOGIST'S
PARADISE — WALKS IN THE LANES OF MACHACHI — ANTONIO RACINES INTRODUCES
ME TO AN AMPHIPOD — THE DOGS OF MACHACHI . . . 100-119

CHAPTER VI.
ON COTOPAXI AND ILLINIZA.

THE PROJECT — LOUIS BECOMES CONVALESCENT — WE GO TO THE FARM OF ROSARIO
— COTOPAXI — ANGLES OF ITS SLOPES — ITS POSITION AND ERUPTIONS — ERUPTIONS
IN 1877 — DARKNESS CAUSED BY CLOUDS OF EJECTED ASH — LAVA BOILS OVER
THE RIM OF THE CRATER — THE FLOODS THAT ENSUE — FIRST ASCENT OF GOTO-

CONTENTS. xvii

PAXI BY DR. W, REISS — OTHER ASCENTS — ON ILLINIZA — PERPETUAL MISTS — WE
ENCAMP AT 15,207 FEET — GLACIERS ON ILLINIZA — TUFTED SNOW-CORNICES —
DEFEATED — WEATHER IN THE INTERIOR OF ECUADOR . . PageS 120-135

CHAPTER VII.
THE ASCENT OF COTOPAXI, AND A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT.

START FOR COTOPAXI BY FREIHERR VON THIELMANN's ROUTE — PEDREGAL — ABUND-
ANCE OF BEETLES ON THE PLAIN OF LIMPIOPONGO — COLPODES — BOMBS THROWN
OUT BY COTOPAXI — WE CAMP AT 15,130 FEET — CULINARY TROUBLES — THE
YANASACHE LAVA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS — ON VOLCANIC "ASH," DUSTS, SANDS,
AND LAPILLI — THE INSINUATING NATURE OF VOLCANIC DUST — DESCRIPTIONS
BY PROF. T. G. BONNEY — THE WORSHIP OF THE CROSS — NATIVE ATTIRE — SHOES
OF STRING — PREPARATIONS FOR THE ASCENT — FLORA OF THE CONE — THE START
— CUMUIiUS CLOUD SEEN 23,000 FEET HIGH — GLACIERS ON COTOPAXI — ARRIVE AT
THE TERMINAL SLOPE OF ASH — THE PREVALENT WINDS — REACH THE EDGE OF
THE CRATER AND GO PARTLY ROUND IT — ENCAMP AT 19,500 FEET — WARMTH
OF THE CONE — COLDNESS OF THE AIR — A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT — ARE WE
"habituated"? — INSPECTION OF THE CRATER BY NIGHT — PERIODICAL STEAM-
blasts — description of the crater — "there was fire below " — a great
safety-valve — the height of cotopaxi — descent to pedregal — some more
"treasures"! ....... 136-156

CHAPTER VIII.

THE FIRST ASCENT OF SINCHOLAGUA.

A SEVERELY SCIENTIFIC ASCENT — THE OLD STYLE — GIANTS WANTED — SINCHOLAGUA
— CROSS THE RIO PITA — DECEITFUL GROUND — WARM SPRINGS — MANNER OF
APPROACH TO THE SUMMIT — BEATEN BACK — THUNDER AND LIGHTNING —
STEEPNESS OF THE IMMEDIATE SUMMIT — DEPARTURE FROM MACHACHI AND
ARRIVAL AT QUITO ....... 157-166

CHAPTER IX.

ON QUITO AND THE QUITONIANS.

THE BASIN OF QUITO — POPULATION OF THE CITY — QUEBRADAS — WATER AND

WATER - CARRIERS THE PANECILLO — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS AT QUITO — A

TRUCULENT INNKEEPER — ON HEAD - GEAR AND HATS — INTERVIEW WITH THE
PRESIDENT — HOW GENERAL VEINTEMILLA CAME INTO POWER — HISTORY —
GARCIA MORENO — DEMONSTRATIONS — A PROMISING PEOPLE — MANANA — ECUA-
DORIAN BONDS — INDIANS AT QUITO — PRICES IN ECUADOR — OPENINGS FOR
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRIZE — ON BANKS AND MONEY — AN EASY WAY OF EARNING
A DIVIDEND ........ 167-183

xviii CONTENTS.

CHAPTEK X.

THE FIRST ASCENT OF ANTISANA.

THE BASIN OF CHILLO — AGUIRRE's METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMPTES
EENDUS — A CHAMPION MUD-HOLE — THE HACIENDA OF PINANTURA — RENCONTRE
WITH SENOR REBOLLEDO — THE GREAT LAVA - STREAM OF ANTISANILLA —
ARRIVAL AT THE HACIENDA OF ANTISANA — THE CLOUDINESS OF ANTISANA —
BEATEN ON OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT AN ASCENT— ON SNOW-BLINDNESS — START
AGAIN, AND CAMP AT 15,984 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA — ENORMOUS
CREVASSES — "l FEAR AN AVALANCHE " — ARRIVAL ON THE SUMMIT — HIGH
TEMPERATURES — THE HEIGHT OF ANTISANA — CRATERS AND CREVASSES — THE
FLORA OF ANTISANA — ON CONDORS AND FLIGHTS OF THE IMAGINATION — THE

RANGE IN ALTITUDE OF THE CONDOR — A GREAT, SOLEMN ASSEMBLY THE

COTTON FACTORY AT CHILLO — RETURN TO QUITO . . PageS 184-206

CHAPTER XI.
UPON AN ASCENT OF PICHINCHA.

A CURE FOR SOUR BLOOD — REMINISCENCES OF CHICAGO — THE ROUTE TO PICHINCHA
— ITS TWO SUMMITS, RUCU- AND GUAGUA — ENSILLADAS — A TAME CRATER —
NATURE OF THE HIGHEST POINT — RECURRING SPECIES — HUMMING-BIRDS —
SALT FISH FOR DINNER ...... 207-216

CHAPTER XII.
THE FIRST ASCENT OF CAYAMBE.

THE ROAD TO THE NORTH CAYAMBE — CROSS THE GREAT QUEBRADA OF GUALLA-

BAMBA — ECCENTRICITIES OF THE ANEROIDS — A FIGHT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
— SPORT IN ECUADOR — A POTATO BED — START FOR THE ASCENT OF CAYAMBE
— MENACED BY A CONDOR — DISAPPEARANCE OF JEAN - ANTOINE AND ITS CON-
SEQUENCES — INDIAN HOSPITALITY — INGRATITUDE CAMP ON CAYAMBE AT

14,762 FEET — THE POINTE JARRIN AND THE ESPINOSA GLACIER — ASCENT OF
CAYAMBE (19,186 feet) — OUR Farranqui

75. Stars in stone

76. Some unusual forms of Stone Implements

77. Tool-sharpeners? ....

78. Maize-heads in stone

79. Heads in stone, from Riobamba

80. The head of an old Indian silver pin

81. Six-rayed star in bronze .

82. Bronze hatchets from Cuenca

83. Ordinary forms of old Indian pottery

84. Some of the less common forms

85. Ornamentation of pottery

86. Indian musical whistles .

87. The Don pot

88. Double-headed jar or vase

89. The contents of a grave .

90. The Inca vase .

91. The money-box .

92. La Condamine's Inscribed Stone

93. Plan, section, and elevation of the Pyramids of Quito

XXIU

PAGE

169
171
174

179

183

184

200

203

206

207

216

217

228

233

237

238

243

247

248

256

257

258

268

269

273

274

275

276

277

278

279

280

281

282

288

284

285

286

287

289

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

94. The Pyramid of Oyambaro, in 1880

95. a stampede

96. At camp in the Valley of Collanes

97. The bridge of Penipe

98. A threatened attack

99. Plan of camp

100. Carihuairazo, from the south

101. The fourth camp on Chimborazo (14,359 feet)

102. Chimborazo, from the north-north-west'

103. Commencement of the eruption of Cotopaxi, July 3,

104. A Phasma from La Dormida, Cayambe .

105. Humboldt's triangle ....

106. Jean-Antoine and the babies

107. Forceps op an Earwig from Cayambe .

108. Earwig from 13,353 feet on Chimborazo

109. PlERIS XANTHODICE, LuCAS

110. A Moth from 12,000 feet on Pichincha

111. Moths from 14,500 feet on Cotocachi, and Summit of

112. Htalella inermis, S. I. Smith

113. COLIAS ALTICOLA, GODMAN & SaLVIN

114. COLIAS DIMERA, DOUBL. & HeW.

115. A tropical dream ....

116. "We came again into the land of butterflies"

117. Certificates of examination of Barometer No. 558

118. Chimborazo, from Guayaquil .

1880

Pichincha

PAGE

292
296
305
308
310
312
317
318
320
323
335
340
344
354
355
357
358
359
361
364
364
385
388
397
442

MAPS, ETC.

1. General map of Ecuador, Colombia, &c. . . . To face page 1

2. Plan of Quito, after Father J. B. Menten ... ,, 167

3. Map of the Province of Quito, by Don Pedro Maldonado. At end of vol.

4. Route Map to illustrate "Travels amongst the Great Andes." In pocket.

ERRATA.

At page 12, note 1, " Villavicensio
„ „ 193, note 3, do.

„ ,, 209, note 1, do.

,, ,, 112, note 1, " Chap. XII." should read

should read " Villavicencio.
do.
do.
Chap. XIX."

114, note 1, " Chapters VI, XIII, and XV." should read " Chapters VI, XIII, and XIX.

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES

Flafal < 3 xjjTtHlWBORAZo °Ji')<7.«<o -..^ \ -gi^^

GidforGuavanuil ,^y ,^^T""b^ \^^

^ ^ J . ^J^^

Kiivhsli Mil.-s

ON THE WAY TO BODEGAS.

CHAPTER I.

We landed at Guayaquil on December 9, 1879, after an un-
eventful voyage across the Atlantic, and an unexpected deten-
tion upon the Isthmus of Panama.^ Our ship had scarcely
anchored before a Custom House officer sought me out, to
deliver an ornate speech; which commenced, according to the
manner of the country, with declarations that he himself, his
property, and other things besides were mine, and terminated
with the welcome intelligence that he had been ordered to pass
my baggage without examination, and free of duty.

Guayaquil is the chief port of the Republic of the Equator
(Ecuador), and is second in population only to the capital,
Quito.' In 1879, it was a very busy place. The war between

^ See The Contemporary Heview, March, 1889.

' It appeared to me to have about 28,000 inhabitants. No census has, I
believe, yet been taken in Ecuador. All statements in regard to the population
are to be received with caution.

2 TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

Peru and Chili caused a large accession of trade, and filled it
with a horde of refugees. Lodgings were scarcely to be had
for money, and services were difficult to procure. Life seemed
too easy for the lower orders at this place. At very trifling
expense they can breakfast on chocolate, dine on bananas and
cocoa-nut, and fall back at night on pine-apples. Lodging is
not a difficulty with them, and dress is almost superfluous in a
climate so equably warm. The elders go about in very light
attire, and the young people appear in the streets in the earliest
mode of Eden. Workmen set an exorbitant value on their
services, and the very labourers expected to be paid at the rate
of little English Bishops.

Not much was wanting to perfect our arrangements. Our
principal need was a third man, as interpreter and general assist-
ant, and it was supplied by Mr. Perring, an Englishman who
had lived many years in Ecuador, and had frequently acted as
Government courier between Guayaquil and Quito. This matter
settled, there was time to look about, and I betook myself
daily to the highest accessible ground — a hill at the northern
end of the town — to endeavour to get a view of the Andes, and
especially of Chimborazo.

Up to this time we had scarcely had a glimpse of the
Andes. On the first half of the voyage from Panama our
course was at too great a distance from the coast ; and, on
approaching the Equator, although the nearer parts of the outer
ranges could be discerned, their tops were in cloud, and the
great snow - peaks were invisible. Several Captains of the
Mail Steamers, who had long experience, said that they had
only seen Chimborazo from the Pacific Ocean on three or four
occasions in the course of thirteen or fourteen years ; and Mr.
Chambers told me that the mountain was not commonly seen
at Guayaquil more than once or twice a month.

I proposed to make my way to Chimborazo by the ordinary
route to Quito, via Bodegas and Guaranda. From Guayaquil

CHAP. I. S03IE SNAKE STORIES. 3

to Bodegas one takes the steamer, up the Guayas, and for the
rest of the way transit is effected by horses, mules, or donkeys.
As the rainy season was about to commence, and would impede
or almost stop traffic whilst it lasted, there was an unusual
demand for baggage animals, and it was expedient to arrange
beforehand, to avoid detention at Bodegas. So we remained at
Guayaquil, until information arrived that our train was ready.

Whilst waiting for news from Bodegas, I prowled about the
outskirts of the town in search of snakes, being desirous of
acquiring the handsome and venomous ^^ Coral " which had not
hitherto been acclimatized in Europe.^ I did not see a live
snake of any sort or description whilst at Guayaquil. It was
the end of the dry season, and they had gone out of town for
a time ; but I understood from Mr. Chambers that he had many
Coral snakes on his property, and could spare a few without
inconvenience, and he promised to have a living specimen ready
against our return to Guayaquil.^

1 A few years ago, a French traveller — Mons. Andre — made an endeavour to
introduce it from Colombia. His specimen arrived alive at Lille, where the French
douaniers, suspecting contraband, insisted upon opening the box in which it was
secured. The snake immediately made its appearance, to take a look around, and
the douaniers retired. It then walked out, and disappeared, and was heard of no
more. This, according to M. Andre, was the first attempt to introduce the Coral
snake into Europe. See Le Tour du Monde, vol. 35, p. 182, Paris, 1878.

2 Unfortunatel}', when that time came, they were too shy and could not be
caught. Mr. Chambers was good enough to despatch another equally venomous
reptile after me, to soothe my disappointment. The following sad story, how-
ever, came to hand instead of the snake.

It seems that it was shipped in a box by one of the Mail Steamers, and,
being regarded with suspicion, was placed in a boat hanging from the davits.
In the course of the voyage, about a dozen little snakes made their debut, and,
after crawling through a small knot-hole in the box, wriggled along the davits,
and thence on to the deck. In the morning, when passengers came out to
exercise, they found snakes already in possession. Quartermasters were set to
clear them out, but one little snake managed to bite the second oflScer, and
caused his arm to swell so much that he had to be taken on shore at Panama
and be put in hospital. No one would venture to approach the box with the
parent snake. The plug was knocked out of the bottom of the boat and it was

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

On December 13 we received advice that our animals were
ready, and left G-uayaquil the same afternoon on board the
river-steamer Quito, with a large and very miscellaneous freight/

and arrived about midnight
at Bodegas. Opposite to
Guayaquil the Guayas is a
noble river, more than a
mile and a quarter across,
with good depth, of water.
It is joined just above the
town by its principal tribu-
tary, the Eiver Daule, and
beyond the junction, though
remaining fully a mile wide,
it becomes shallow. At a
distance of about thirteen
miles N.N.E. of Guayaquil
it receives the waters of an-
other important tributary,
the River Yaguachi, a stream
which is formed by the union of the Chimbo and Chanchan.
In their upper courses, these rivers are only mountain torrents —

A YOUNG PERSON OF GUAYAQUIL.

lowered into the sea. The box floated away and drifted on to Flamenco I., ofE
Panama, where some residents fired through and through it until the snake was
killed. Mr. Chambers subsequently received a special request not to ship any
more passengers of that class.

1 The war in Peru caused an exodus of Italian organs from Lima, and thirty
refugee instruments landed at Guayaquil just before our arrival. Four of these
were on board the Quito, concentrated on the fore part of the upper deck, each
playing a different tune. The Ecuadorians enjoyed the babel, but the alligators
in the river seemed more sensitive. They came up and stared with open mouths,
and plunged down again immediately, out of hearing.

The Guayas and its tributaries are full of alligators. On a trip up the river in
July, 1880, I saw a large sandbank completely covered by a horde of them, lying
peaceably alongside each other. The natives do not seem to be troubled by their
proximity, though it is admitted they do occasionally chew incautious children.

CHAP. I.

BODEGAS DE BABAHOYO.

the Chimbo being the more important of the two, and taking the
drainage of the whole of the eastern slopes of the Pacific Eange
of Ecuador, and of the western slopes of the great block of mount-
ains to the south of Ohimborazo. Above the junction of the
Yaguachi the Guayas becomes narrower, though it still remains
quite 2000 feet across for some miles above Zamborondon. It
then branches out into the flat land in numerous canal -like rami-
fications, and by the time Bodegas is reached dwindles down to
insignificant dimensions.

Although we had approached more closely to the Andes we
still saw nothing of them. On the lower reaches of the river
this was not to be wondered at, for the land was being cleared
by firing, prior to the advent of the rains, and clouds of smoke
rose thousands of feet in the air, obscuring everything, except
the banks close at hand. At Bodegas we got beyond this ; the
sun shone brilliantly, but not a sign of a mountain could be
seen, though I shortly found that we were less than thirty-five
miles from summits 14-15,000 feet above the sea. Ohimborazo,
I was told, could be seen from Bodegas, and bore from that
place J^^.E. by E., or thereabouts.

The town of Bodegas de Babahoyo (called for brevity Bodegas)
contains about 2000
inhabitants. It is the
entrepot of Quito, where
goods are temporarily
stored, and where a
number of agents dwell
whose business it is to
receive goods from the
steamers and to ar-
range for their transit
into the interior. In
the rainy season, the
river rises here from

A HOUSE AT BODEGAS.

6 TRAVELS AMONOST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

30 to 35 feet, and, overflowing its banks, turns the country into
a vast lake. Hence many of the houses in this district are built
on piles or posts. The area over which the floods extend is
indicated by the houses that are constructed in this manner.

We left Bodegas at 1.20 p.m. on December 14, and crossing
by a bridge to the right bank of the river commenced the
journey over some open, flat, sandy ground. All went comfort-
ably for a time. Jean-Antoine Oarrel headed the caravan,
mounted,^ carrying one of the mercurial barometers and some
other instruments; I followed, similarly equipped ; then came
the baggage animals, and the muleteers (arrieros) with Louis
and Perring brought up the rear. Just one hour after the start,
when we were jogging quietly along, the leading mule suddenly
became possessed by ten thousand devils, and rushed hither and
thither, throwing its heels high in the air ; and succeediug in
loosening its load, which turned round under its belly, it then
commenced a series of violent fore and aft movements with its
hoofs, to try to pulverize my photographic camera, and the other
things which it carried.

In course of time we got to regard such episodes as a part
of the daily routine. The most outrageous performers were
generally the animals with the lightest loads ; and, unless their
extravagancies were promptly checked, their example became
contagious, and the whole troop scattered, some galloping away,
while the rest engaged themselves in madly battering their loads
with the intention of dislodging them. A load on the Quito
road usually weighs more than 300 lbs., and we probably com-
mitted a mistake in giving our beasts too little to carry in the
low country.^

1 In order to travel quickly, a considerable part of my baggage was sent out
in advance, and was placed in secure hands at Guaranda and Quito. I am
much indebted to Mr. Theakston, a forwarding agent at Bodegas, for his atten-
tions there and at other places.

2 All my cases were made with a view to transit by mules, and none weighed
more than 75 lbs. Two of these and a few small articles were allotted to each

CHAP. I. ALL ALIVE. 7

We made a short march on the first day, and stopped about
4 p.m. at the little, straggling village La Mona. Our house
stood on posts, and like most others in this neighbourhood was
built of bamboo, and was thatched with leaves. We passed the
night, according to the custom of the country, in string ham-
mocks, which were slung on the verandah on the first floor.
Sleep was enlivened by superabundant animal life. Bats flapped

AT LA MONA.

our faces, and thousands of insects swarmed down upon the
candles, while scuttling things of all sorts ranged the floor and
invaded our boots.

A change was made in our arrangements next day. From
this time onwards, Jean-Antoine took charge of both the mer-
curial barometers, to leave me free to attend to the details of

animal. Thus our loads seldom weighed more than 160 lbs., and this was as
much as was good at great elevations. I saw many donkeys on the Quito road
carrying eight dozens of wine or beer in four cases. Such loads cannot have
weighed less than 280 lbs.

8 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

the caravan whilst passing along ^^the Royal lioad." This is
the title which has been given for many generations to the
route from Bodegas to Guaranda. Although republican Ecua-
dorians have done much levelling, and amongst other things
have abolished titles of nobility, they have omitted to level
their roads, and cling with curious tenacity to the pompous
title of this primitive track. In the matter of mud it did not
come up to expectations. It was not so pre-eminently filthy
as to be entitled to precedence over all other roads in this
country ; though it certainly was, in some parts, what Ecua-
dorians call ' savoury.^ The mud is compounded of decaying
animal and vegetable matter, churned up with earth, and the
product is a greasy and captivating slime. The interesting
series of ridges — termed camellones — crossing the track at right
angles to its course, are generally considered by travellers to
have been originated by the regular tread of animals.^ Typical
examples have a furrow of liquid mud upon each side of a ridge
of slippery soil, with a difference of level of two feet or more
between the top of the ridge and the bottom of the furrows ;
and man and beast struggle over the one and wallow in the
others upon this grande route to the interior.

The traffic at this time was considerable both upwards and
downwards, and the loads were often very miscellaneous in char-
acter. Champagne assorted with iron bedsteads seemed to travel
well, while sheets of corrugated iron laid flat across the backs
of donkeys gave rise to much bad language in narrow places.
Coming down from -the interior, on their way to the coast, we
met numerous teams, often twenty or thirty in a troop, bringing
huge bales of quinine bark, accompanied by gangs of unkempt

1 Though they are maintained and deepened by the tread of animals, it is
questionable if they were originated by them. Upon some new road which was
being made to the south of Otovalo, 1 noticed furrows being dug, and there were
already amongst them (without the assistance of traffic) many first-class puddles,
which promised to make this, in a short time, a worthy continuation of "the
Royal Road."

CHAP.

A ROYAL ROAD,

Indians, who liumbly doffed their hats as tliey passed by. All
day long, in front or behind, tliere could be heard a subdued
murmur of snortings, braying, smashing, and objurgation ; and
from time to time, at fresh bends in the road, another caravan
would appear, — horned cattle doing duty as well as horses, asses,
and mules — the exclamations and whip-cracking became louder^

A COLLECTOR.

and we could distinguish the cries of the arrieros — their
id ' Burras ! ' ' Miila ha lias,^ and ' Cholos,'' mino-led

' Burros ! '

with many * Lados ! ' and expressions which will not bear

translation.

For most of the way from Bodegas to Savaneta the Ro^'al

road was 'just such a beaten track as may be seen on many

English commons. Next it led through shady jungle, and after

Playas was passed it began to rise, jungle gradually changed to

forest, and the road became damp, dirty, and confined. When

a gleam of sunlight pierced the interlaced branches, we could

10 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

see the great Mor])hos sailing in security amongst the hooks
and spines of the tropical vegetation, and epiphytals thriving in
gloom on stagnant air. But we could not tarry, for the rains
had already commenced, and every one advised us to press on.^
. The second night found us at Mufiapamba, a regular stoppiug-
place, 1337 feet above the sea, where a hut, called a Tambo,
was surrounded by a motley throng of beasts, and bipeds who
were practising the revolting habit that is referred to more par-
ticularly in Chapter IV.; and we passed an uneasy night in the
02)en air upon plank beds, which were the only couches known
at this establishment.

At 7 a.m., on Dec. 1(3, we left the tambo, and crossed to the
right bank of a little stream, called the S. Jorge River. The
Andes were still invisible, although we were actually upon their
lower slopes. Everything was envelo^^ed in mist, and a few

1 In c-onsequeuce of having been detained for ten days upon the Isthmus of
Panama, we only just escaped the coast wet season. The intention to collect
at route was abandoned, as we were constantly warned by persons we met on the
road that rain was falling heavily on the mountains.

Amongst the few species secured on the first day's journey, there have been
found an undescribed Ant {Cmtiponotim), a Bug {FnoMnimx)^ and two Beetles
{EpitrayuH and Prionocalus). These are described and figured in the Supplementary
Appendix which is published simultaneously with this volume.

The Prlonocalun that is described by Mr. H. W, Bates under the name P.
trigonodes was picked up close to La Mona. It is one of the larger of known
beetles, and being the finest we got during the day I looked at it attentively
while putting it into alcohol. It gathered its limbs together, and appeared to
expire almost instantaneously, without a struggle. The same happened with
nearly everything that was obtained in Ecuador, with lizards, frogs, fish, etc.,
as well as with insects.

The genus Prionocalus was founded by Adam White upon specimens received
from Mexico. It has also been found in Peru, and some years ago Mr. Water-
house described a fine species from Ecuador (locality unknown, but supposed to
have been on the eastern or Amazonian side of the Andes) under the name
P. Bnckleyi, from specimens collected by the late Mr. Buckley. I obtained P.
Buckleyi at the height of about 4000 feet on the Royal road, and subsequently,
through a collector, a third species of the genus, which was taken at the height
of about 6000 feet, in the country to the west of Quito.

CHAP. I. THE HOTEL ON THE HILL. 11

hundred yards was the most one could see in any direction.
The path rose more steeply and continuously than upon passes
which are commonly traversed by mules in the Alps, and
degenerated as we ascended. It became a mere rut, hollowed
out on the face of the mountain, without provision for drainage,
and was left entirely to take care of itself. Earth that fell on
to it from the banks at the side was trodden into the general
filth. If pools accumulated, there they remained. Animals
dying oi route were left to rot, and were not removed. We
passed two disabled mules, stuck fast, abandoned to their fate.

In two hours from Muuapamba we arrived at the village of
Balsabamba, and after a brief halt continued the steep ascent ;
soon after noon entering the zone where rain had been falling
during the last eight days, and then every one 2)i'essed forward
to seek the nearest shelter, at Tambo Loma. Whilst toiling up
the greasy zigzags, we were overtaken by a genial man, made
U23 of straps and buckles, who was riding extra-post to Quito,
and were guided by him across the quagmire that surrounded
the " Hotel on the Hill " to the principal ajoartment, a window-
less den about nine feet square and six feet high. There was
neither bed nor bedding, food nor firing at this place. ^ AVe
slept on our packing-cases.

On the morning of the 17th we quitted Tambo Loma soon
after daybreak, piloted by the friendly courier. The muleteers
said that the road was nearly impassable, and during a rise of
3000 feet we found it a morass, a sea of mud, into which our
animals sank up to their knees or deeper. At length, when a
little less than 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, we gradu-
ally topped the mists, and obtained our first view in the Andes.

1 An Ecuadoriau tambo is meant to give slielter to drovers and mule-drivers.
These classes commonly carry food with them, for economy, and are content to
sleep in pig-styes. The tambo meets their requirements, and seldom contains
accommodation or food for the few others who travel in Ecuador. At La Mona
we put up at a private house. Savaneta, Playas, Munapamba, and Balsabamba are
recognized stopping-places, and have tambos.

12 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap, i.

In a dim way, we could make out the buttress on which
Tambo Loma was placed ; but, although overlooking the mists,
we could see neither the tambo, nor Munapamba at the bottom
of the valley, the flat land, the Pacific, nor anything to the west
except mist, ^ — light and thin above, dense and black below.
Towards the east it w^as nearly clear. A few hundred feet
above us, our road led to a gap, or pass in the mountains. We
made at once for this place, and in a few minutes left the
steaming Pacific slopes behind, and passed, as it were, into
another world. The view from this place was a revelation.

From Bodegas until our arrival at this spot we had not
been able to see as much as a mile in any direction. We
passed through forest ; the track constantly rose ; the barometers
told us we were getting high ; but in what direction our road
would lead, whether it would keep to the east, north-east, or
south-east, was not known. From the existing maps of Ecuador^
it did not appear that any important mountains intervened
between Guaranda and the coast, and until this moment I had
supposed that the western slopes of Chimborazo led continuously
towards the Pacific. For the best authority upon this parti-
cular district, Mr. Richard Spruce, says, '•On the western side '^
(of Chimborazo) "I can find no positive break from the summit
down to the plain. There is no intervening salient peak, and
no ridge whose origin may not be traced to the peak of Chim-

' Namely, the map by Don Pedro Maldonado, the map in La Condamine's
Voyage., and the ma]) accompanying the work Geografia cle In. RepnhVica del
Ecuador., by Manuel Villavicensio, New York, 1858. In the portion of the
Maldonado map that I have reproduced (which is placed at the end of this
volume), it will be seen there is no suggestion of "an important range of mount-
ains to the immediate west of Chimborazo and the valley of the E. Chimbo,
and in several places, notably just north of the words R. Yaguachi, the map
suggests flat, forest-covered land. On the map of La Condamine this district has
evidently been copied from Maldonado, and some of the hill-work given by the
latter authority is abolished, making the land appear flatter still ; and in the
Villavicensio map this process is still further carried out, and there appears to be
nothing except unimportant hills between Guayaquil and Chimborazo.

CHAT. I. THE PACIFIC RANGE OF ECUADOR. 13

borazo."* In this matter he is, however, incorrect. It is more
convenient to give at this point all that need be said on the
subject than to recur to it again.

The place where our road crossed the mountains was a true
pass, leading through a gap, from the head of one valley on the
western to another on the eastern side of a large and important
range of mountains. Two small huts on its summit were
termed Tambo Gobierno.^ I read the two mercurial barometers
here at 10 a.m., and there was a nearly corresponding (11 a.m.)
observation by Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil, and from these
observations it appears that the height of Tambo Gobierno is
10,417 feet. A short distance from us, both to the north and
to the south, there were points from 1000 to 1500 feet higher ;
and to the north, I found subsequently, the general elevation of
the range increased, and that there were a number of summits
13 - 14,000 feet above the level of the sea, — some, I believe,
closely approaching the height of 15,000 feet. The general
elevation diminishes when proceeding southwards, though it re-
mains considerable to its furthest extremity, where the River
Chimbo, suddenly changing from a nearly north and south
course to an east and west one, skirts its base. At this end,
the slopes rise abruptly from a few hundred feet above the
level of the sea to 7-8000 feet, and are magnificently wooded.

On December 19 and 26, when proceeding from Guaranda
to Chimborazo, I had unclouded views of the eastern side of this
range ; and from December 27 to January 12, whilst encamped
upon Chimborazo, I commanded and looked down upon the
eastern side of the whole of the northern part of it. In the
following July, whilst making the circuit of Chimborazo, I saw
that that mountain was everywhere well separated from the

^ See page 7 of his Report on the expedition to procure seeds and plants of the
Cinchona sitcciriibra, or Med Bark Tree^ London, 1861.

2 They contained accommodation for neither man nor beast, and nothing-
edible except one very shrivelled, old Indian woman.

14 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. r.

range on its west ; and subsequently, after skirting the great
block of mountains to the south of Ohimborazo, I came upon
the range again at the Bridge of Chimbo, passed around its
southern extremity, and saw its western slopes at that end
dying out in the neighbourhood of Barraganetal. They also
extend as far as Muiiapamba. Its northern extremity, and
north-western slopes, I have not seen at all. The range has,
however, an ascertained length from north to south of 65 miles,
and is in breadth 18 to 20 miles — that is to say, it is at least
twice the length and breadth of the range of Mont Blanc.

The range is bounded on the east by the valley of the
River Chimbo, and the course of this valley is well seen in the
neighbourhood of Guaranda. To the north of that town it
opens out into a very large basin, which receives the whole of
the drainage of the western side of Ohimborazo. South of
Guaranda, the valley for a long distance runs north and south.
At Guaranda the river is 8530 feet, and at Chimbo (formerly
called the Bridge of Chimbo), according to the Railway authorities,
it is 1130 feet above the level of the sea. These facts suffi-
ciently show that Chimborazo itself, and the great massif of
which it is the culminating point, are separated by a large and^
profound valley from the range of which I have spoken ; and,
as this range is not yet known by any distinctive appellation,
I propose to call it the Pacific Range of Ecuador.^

At Tambo Gobierno we passed as it were into another
world. The slopes of the Pacific Range were densely wooded
right up to their crests on the side facing the Ocean, while their
eastern ones were almost absolutely bare of vegetation. In a few
hundred yards the track lost its royal character, and on the
other side of the ridge became as dry as the Sahara. A good,
made road down a steep lateral valley led us through the

1 The stream near Chimbo marked Agua Clara on my map, is a mountain
torrent gushing out of the southernmost extremity of the Pacific Range, and now
supplies Guayaquil with water.

CHAP. I. JIAPS OF ECUADOR. 15

village of S. Miguel to the larger one of S. Jose, where we
halted for food ; and we then pushed on in advance of our
caravan, arriving just hefore nightfall at the small town of
(ruaranda, the place which I intended to use as a base for
attack upon Chirnborazo.*

NOTE UPON TTTE MAPS OF ECUADOR.

Most modern maps of Ecuador are based upon those of M.
de la Condamine and Don Pedro Maldonado. The former of
these, 071 a scale of about nineteen geographical miles to an
inch, was published in 1751, at Paris, in the work Journal du
voyage fait par ordre du roi a TEquateur, servant d'introduction
historique a la mesure des trois premiers degres du meridien,
and was entitled Carte de la Province de Quito au Perou,
dressee sur les Observations astronomiques, Mesures geographiques,
Journaux de route et Memoires de Mr de la Condamine, et sur
ceux de Don Pedro Maldonado. Par Mr d'Anville de TAcad.
I'mperiale de Petersbourg.

1 I give below our times between the several places which have been mentioned.
A single horseman, or a pedestrian, would not occupy so long, more especially
if proceeding in the reverse direction. Bodegas to La Mona, 2 hours 40 min. ;
La Mona to Savaneta, 2 lis. ; Savaneta to Playas, 2 hs. ; Playas to Munapamba,
4 hs. ; Munapaml)a to Balsabamba, 2 hs. ; Balsabamba to Tambo Loma, 3 hs.
30 min. ; Tambo Loma to Tambo Gobierno, 2 hs. 45 min. ; Tambo Gobierno to
S. Jose de Chimbo, 2 hs. 30 min. ; and thence to Guaranda, 3 hours.

The following shade temperatures were observed, in the open air : —
Dec.

14.

La Mona ....

83° Falit.

at 8 p.m.

15.

do. ....

72° „

,, 4 a.m.

do. ....

74° „

„ ^ „

Playas ....

78-5 .,

,, noon.

IP).

Munapamba (1337 feet)

ro'^ „

„ 6.45 a.m.

Tambo Loma (0850 „ )

02-5 „

., 7 p.m.

ir.

do. . . . .

59-5 „

,, 4 a.m.

do. ....

60° .,

„ 5.30 a.m.

Tambo Gobierno (10,417 feet)

60° „

„ 10 a.m.

S. Jose de Chimbo (8200 ,, )

65° „

,, 1.45 p.m.

16 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. i.

The latter map, in four sheets, on a scale of about twelve
geographical miles to an inch, extending from 2° X. Lat. to 6''
S. Lat., was published in Paris in 1750, under the title Carta
de la Provincia de Quito y de sus adjacentes. Obra posthuma
de Don Pedro Maldonado, Gentilhombre de la Camara de S.
Mag. y Governador de la Prov. de Esmeraldas. Hecha sobre
las Observaciones Astronomicas y Geograficas de los Academicos
Reales de las Ciencias de Paris y de las Guardias Mar. de
Cadiz y tambien de los liR. PP. Missioneros de Maynas. En
que la Costa desde la Boca de Esmeraldas hasta Tumaco con
la Derrota de Quito al Maranon, por una senda de a pie de
Bafios a Canelos, y el curso de los Eios Bobonaya y Pasta9a van
delineados sobre las pi'oprias demarcaciones del difunto Autor.
Sacada a luz por orden, y a expensas de su Magestad. m.dccl.

These two maps were constructed from the same material,
and (although differing in some matters of detail) are nearly
identical. In M. de la Condamine's Journal du Vojjage frequent
reference is made to Maldonado (see vol. 1, pp. 110, 141-2, and
208-210) and to his share in the production of these maps. In
general, the central portion of the region Avhich is represented
is based upon the work of the Academicians, whilst the
remainder is largely due to Maldonado. Two different classes
of work, of very ditt'erent degrees of value, have been embodied ;
namely (1) triangulation of the most precise character, starting
from a long and carefully-measured base, checked by a base of
verification : and (2) surveys of the rougher kinds, made by the
less accurate methods.

La Condamine says that Maldonado was a ^^ Creole du Perou."'
He was for some time Governor of the district of Esmeraldas,
and devoted himself to discovering a more direct road to Quito
from the Pacific than that via Guayaquil, which was then, as
it is still, the route in general use. He succeeded in doing
so, and concurrently made extensive topographical observations.
Afterwards, in company with La Condamine, he descended the

cuAP. I. BON PEDRO 3IALD0NAD0. 17

Amazons, and assisted in the survey of that river, and then
proceeded to Europe to introduce his mqw way from Panama to
Quito to notice in Si3ain. He went to Paris to superintend the
production of his map ; and, after other travels, came to London,
and died there of fever on Nov. 17, 1748, aged about forty
years. He had been elected a Corresponding Member of the
French Academy of Sciences, and at the time of his death was
about to be proposed at the Royal Society.

In constructing the Route Map which accompanies and
illustrates this volume I have put the maps of La Oondamine
and Maldonado entirely on one side, and have commenced afresh.
I have used the Latitudes of La Oondamine for Quito and
Riobamba, and have adopted 70° 52' 27" W. as the Longitude
of Guayaquil. The details have been tilled in from my own
observations (principally angles taken with a transit theodolite)
except such courses of rivers as are given in dotted lines.
Many of my names will not be found in earlier maps, and in
the positions both of towns and mountains I frequently differ
from my predecessors. As nearly every town, village or inn is
given on the route from Guayaquil to Quito, this route ma])
may be found of some service by persons travelling between the
coast and the capital.

The Map of Chimborazo has been constructed from my own
observations by Mr. Turnbull under Mr. Bolton's direction at
Stanford's Geographical Establishment. Its scale depends upon
a measurement made on the Quito road, between Chuquipoquio
and Mocha.

The Plan of the Glacier de Debris on Chimborazo has been
constructed by myself from my own observations, and its scale
depends upon a base of GOO feet which I measured below our
Second Camp, upon the western side of the glacier.

I have thought it desirable for the further illustration of my
narrative, and for comparison, to give in fac-simile the central
portion of the Maldonado map. This has been reproduced from

18 TRAVELS AMONGST THE ORE AT ANDES. chap. i.

the copy in the Map Room of the British Museum. The road
by which the Governor of Esmeraldas hoped to benefit his
country {camino mieve de Quito) will be seen indicated in the
neighbourhood of the Equator, leading from Nono to the Rio
Blanco (a branch of the R. Esmeraldas). It has never come
into general use. Mr. Stevenson was deputed in 1809 to re-
examine it, and he reported favourably (see Historical and
descriptive narrative of twenty years' residoice in South America,
by W. B. Stevenson, Lond., 1829, vol. 2, pp. 355-7, etc.) : but
down to the present time the circuitous route via Guayaquil
has been preferred.

NATIVE HOUSE AT GUARANDA.

CROSSING THE GREAT ARENAL.

CHAPTER 11.

FROM GUARANDA TO THE FIRST CAMP O^ CHIMBORAZO.

The town of Guaranda seemed very lifeless, although it had
about 2000 inhabitants, and I ventured to remark to an assistant
at the inn^ that it appeared dull, meaning that there was an
absence of trade and traffic. "It is, your Excellency,'' said the
dirty waiter, '' it is deplorably dull ; but to-night some choice
spirits will come in, a7id ivill hick up a delightful row.'' His
master remains in my recollection as a person of unusual candour.
There had been some difficulties over an account that he had
presented to the representative of a foreign power just before
our arrival, but he tendered no paltry excuses, and roundly
declared that Consuls, Ministers, and all that sort of thing must

^ At this place there was an inn, where meals could be had. The beds were
objectionable, and the apartments were filthy. We passed the night in the open
j^allery on our packing-cases, and on Dec, 18 transferred ourselves to a house which
I engaged during our stay.

20 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

pay double, — a fact which members of the diplomatic service
will do well to remember when they pass his way.

Giiaranda had been fixed upon as headquarters for a time
because it was reported to be nearer to Chimborazo than any
other town or village. The road to Quito leads through it, and
passes over the southern extremity of the mountain, across a
plain called "the Great Arenal." The highest point of this was
commonly estimated to be about 14,000 feet above the level of
the sea. We were therefore assured of being able to transport
our baggage to that elevation without calling upon the natives
to do anything unusual. How much higher we should be able
to utilize them depended upon the nature of the lower slopes ;
and as we had no information about them, and did not know
hoAv far we were from the mountain, we set out at 4.30 a.m.
on the 19th to reconnoitre.

It will seem almost incredible that we should have approached
so closely to Chimborazo without obtaining a glimpse of it.
Prescott says^ it affords a magnificent prospect to the mariner
on the Pacific Ocean. It was invisible from the Pacific, and
also at Guayaquil, at Bodegas, Tambo Gobierno, and Guaranda,
though at all those places we were informed that it might, could,
or should be seen ; and upon the 19th, if we had not been aware
that we actually touched its lower slopes, we might have gone
past it without entertaining a suspicion that we were underneath
a mountain of first-class magnitude, notably loftier than anything
in its vicinity.

Upon leaving Guaranda there was a sharp descent to the
River Chimbo, which was crossed by a bridge 360 feet below
the level of the town, and the road then mounted by a pretty*
regular incline along the slopes on the eastern side of the valley,
and gradually bore away from the river. At 5.35 a.m. it was
light enough to see comfortably, and by 6.30 we were nearly
11,000 feet above the sea. At this elevation we made a short

1 History of the Conquest of Peru, Book I., chap. i.

CHAP. II. THE GREAT ARENAL. 21

halt to look at the mountains to the west. Many of the nearer
ones were considerably higher than our position, and as we rose
fresh tops kept coming into view, shewing the extent and
importance of this hitherto ignored Pacific Range. ^

The first part of the road to the Arenal was a fairly good
mountain-path, left, as elsewhere, to take care of itself. Higher
up it became slimy, and our pace was reduced, especially amongst
some first-class camello7ies near the top of the pass. On the last
two hundred feet the track disappeared, and every one followed
the way that seemed best over the steep, sandy slope. The
immediate summit was a rounded ridge of sand, and when this
was crossed the Great Arenal came into sight, sloping at first
very slightly and afterwards more abruptly towards the north-
east, and stretching uninterruptedly to the base of Chimborazo.

Under the guidance of our arriero ■ we made for the Tambo
of Tortorillas (12,828),'^ the only place of refuge between Guaranda
and Chimborazo except a wooden shed at the place marked
Ensillada. The tambo was too filthy to enter, '^ and we went a
few hundred yards aside, and sitting on a grassy knoll looked
towards our mountain. Clouds hung about the whole of the
Upper part, and we could not anywhere see up to the snow-line.

1 Between 11,000 and 12,500 feet the vegetation on the banks by the roadside
was rather unusually attractive. I collected an Eryngium ; several species of
Gaultheria {Gaultheria near conferia, Benth., G. Pichinchensia^ Benth., and another);
Bidens humiUa, H.B.K. (widely distributed in Ecuador) ; Draba grandiflora, Hook,
and Arn. ; Hyperlcxuii {Brathys) at rutheoloe folium, Juss. ; Castilleia JissifoUa, L. ;
VJuetagaster stricta, D.C. ; a Calceolaria, a Geraniicm, etc. etc.

The Botanical Collections made on this journey have been worked out at the
Botanical Department of the British Museum under the personal direction of Mr.
Wm. Carruthers, F.R.S., to whom I offer my best thanks for his attentions and
courtesy.

' This place, as well as all others mentioned, will be found upon the large
map accompanying this volume.

^ It was composed of one room, which was kitchen and everything else. One
of the foulest tambos in Ecuador — the courtyard a sea of mud. Obtained potato
soup, bread, and chocolate here.

22 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

The buttresses in the immediate vicinity of Tortorillas were very
steep, and came to sudden terminations on the sandy plain.
The vallons, however, between them were moderately inclined,
and we heard that mules frequently went up one of them to
fetch ice, which was cut for sale in Gruayaquil. It was clear
that we should be able to take natives about 2000 feet above
Tortorillas, or to about 15,000 feet above the sea, — how much
higher could not be said.

Having learnt this, and obtained a notion of the position of
Chimborazo, we returned in the course of the evening to Gua-
randa,^ and on the next day, the mountain still remaining invisible,
made the acquaintance of the very thin upper crust of the town,
which was composed of the official termed the ' Jefo-politico,'
the Commissary of Police, and the Priest ; and discovered on the
other side of our courtyard a pretty Spanish girl, with lustrous
black eyes, who captivated the Carrels — by peeling their potatoes.

The Jefo-politico, Sefior Don Dario Montenegro, Lieut. -Col.
in the Ecuadorian army, and Senor Don J. Pazmino, Commissary
of Police, made themselves agreeable. We exchanged visits, and
I found tliat they knew more about my intentions than I did
myself. A few days later they gave me another call, evidently
with something upon their minds, though I could not perceive
what was the object of the interview. At length the principal
official thus addressed me. "'Senor, we understand perfectly,
that in an affair like yours, it is necessary to dissemble, — a little ;

1 Whilst returning, I was overcome with dizziness, feverishness, and intense
headache, and had to be supported by two of my people part of the way. Owing
to this, we occupied as long in returning as in ascending. I took 30 grains of
sulphate of quinine in the course of the night, and was covered up with a mount-
ain of blankets, and in the niornmg became all light again.

Left Guaranda 4.30 a.m. Stopped 20 min. en route. Arrived at the top of
the Great Arenal 10.35 a.m., and at Tortorillas 11.45 a.m. Left Tortorillas
1 p.m., and arrived at Guaranda 8.30 p.m. I, estimate the distance to Tortor-
illas and back at 35 miles.

At 6 a.m. the shade temp, in the open air was 45° Faht. At 7.45 a.m., 49°;
at 10.35 am. (summit of Arenal), 52°; and at Tortorillas, at mid-day, SG^'S.

CHAP. IT. TOO SPECULATIVE, 23

and yon, donbtless, do qnite right to say that yon intend to
ascend Chimborazo, — a thing tliat everybody knows is perfectly
impossible. We know very well what is your object ! Yon wish
to discover the treasures which are buried in Chimborazo, and,
no doubt, there is mtirh treasure buried there ; and we hope you
will discover it ; ])ut we hope, when you have discovered it, you
will not forget tis.'' " Gentlemen," I said, " I shall be delighted
to remember you, but in respect to the other matter — the
treasure — I venture to suggest that you shall pay half the
expenses of the expedition, and take half the treasure Ave
discover." Upon hearing this, they drew long faces, and went
away. Shortly afterwards, there came an empty person of
Riobamba, with his mouth full of a story of priceless riches
buried between Chimborazo and Carihuairazo ; to discover which
should be Dty aim for Ids advantage ; and to him I said, " Lead
us there, and we will share the sj)oil ! ' ' But he made no answer,
and went away, and we saw his face no more.^

On Dec. 21, we obtained our first view of Chimborazo.
Instruments had been kept in readiness ; a place of observation
to the north of and somewhat higher than the town had been
selected, and we hurried to it to make the most of the oppor-
tunity. Two things instantly arrested attention. One of these
was that Chimborazo had two summits — twin, snowy domes — ■
apparently, nearly equally elevated. The other was that the
Avhole of that part of the mountain which was seen from
(xuaranda was nearly covered with glaciers.

All the writers who have referred to Chimborazo from
personal knowledge, notably Humboldt and Boussingault, have
spoken of ' the summit,' never of summits ; and in a well-known
passage in Asie Ceiitrale, which has been embodied in many
geographical works, Humboldt expressly declares that he saw
no glaciers in Ecuador. " I have seen nothing in the tropics,"

' At almost every place we visited iu Ecuador persons introduced themselves
with stories of buried treasures.

24 TRAVELS A310NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

he says, ^'^ neither in Quito,^ nor in Mexico, resembling the
Swiss glaciers " ; and he quotes a confirmatory passage from
Boussingault, in which the latter says that he is only acquainted
with one glacier in Ecuador, upon the mountain Tunguragua
— ^'c^est le seul glacier que j'aie vu en Amerique entre les
tropiques." Yet I saw Chimborazo crowned by glacier, and
streaming with glaciers. They departed in all directions from
a plateau on the top, almost covering the mountain.^

The question then arose, AYhich of these two summits is the
higher, and the real top of Chimborazo ? and in the discussion
that followed it appeared that we all inclined to the opinion
that the right - hand or more eastern and more distant one,
although apparently lower, was actually loftier than the left-
hand or more westerly one. Upon bringing the theodolite to
bear upon it, I found that it (the eastern summit) was depressed
2' 30" below the other.

We then debated the manner of approach to the eastern
summit. Assuming it to be the higher of the two, how was
it to be attained ? The natural course would have been from
the south-east.^ This side of the mountain, however, was- never
perfectly free from clouds. It was steep, and so far as we
could see, it was .almost completely covered by glacier. We
could distinguish multitudes of crevasses — the essential and
distinctive feature of glaciers ; and great schrunds which are the
outward and visible signs of the dislocation of these icy masses
in their passage across unusually irregular ground. Over these

1 In this passage, Humboldt means the viceroyalty of Quito (embracing the
whole of Ecuador), not the City of Quito. I give the passage at length in Chapter
XIX.

2 The view facing p. 24 is from a photograph which was taken a few days
later. For the purposes of our discussion I sketched the mountain.

' The reader will be able to follow me upon the accompanying plate. The tambo
of Tortorillas lies to the right, beyond the range of the engraving. The Great
Arenal is behind the distant ridge, which stretches from one side to the other.
The lowest part seen of Chimborazo is more than 16,000 feet above the sea.

CHAP. II. THE SOUTH SIDE OF CHI3IB0RAZ0. 25

slopes and sclirunds, clouds came and went ceaselessly. We
chcrislied the idea that we were unfortunate in the weather,
and that presently they would be dissipated. It took time to
learn that they were a great and permanent feature of the
mountain, due to the condensation of damp air coming from
the Amazonian region.

A direct approach to the eastern summit from the side of
Guaranda could not be contemplated for a moment ; for the
glaciers streaming from the two domes fell over cliffs, and
above nearly perpendicular precipices of rock there rose per-
pendicular walls of ice, which broke away as the glaciers
progressed, and rolled into a basin, of which we only saw the
head. We could trace the grooves and scorings on the slopes
below made by falling bodies, and knew that we could not
venture there.

Underneath the western summit, and leading nearly south-
west, there appeared to be a ridge coming down to the Arenal,
and to the west of this there was another basin, filled with
rather tumultuous glacier. This was succeeded by another
ridge, bearing on its crest a number of sharp pinnacles of
rock. We could only conjecture what came behind this. The
view was terminated on the extreme left by a very long
snow-slope, which seemed to be remarkably free from impedi-
ments, and appeared to stretch continuously almost from the
snow-line up to the western dome. This ridge was a considerable
distance away, and we could not learn whether it was possible
to reach its inferior end. Choice of route was narrowed to it
and the south-west ridge, and I gave a casting vote in favour
of the latter, being largely influenced in arriving at this
decision by the supposition that it was in this direction
Humboldt and Boussingault made their memorable attempts to
ascend the mountain.

There was one point upon this ridge (hereafter referred to
as the south-west ridge of Chimborazo) which, in our united

2Q TRAVELS AMONGST THE ORE AT ANDES, chap. ii.

opinion, was likely to present difficulties.^ If this place could be
passed, I reckoned that we should be able to reach the top of the
mountain. A route could be traced through the great crevasses
by bearing to the west, and I proposed to work round the western
summit, to get between the two domes, and then to strike right
and left.

Jean-Antoine and Louis were eager for an immediate start,
but I refused to break up headquarters at Guaranda until we
were assured that we could reach the south-west ridge by way
of the Arenal. There was a long interval about which we knew
nothing, and I despatched them at 2 p.m. on the 21st to endeav-
our to connect the lowest part that was visible from Guaranda
with the highest ground that we had seen from the Arenal ;
and instructed them, in the event of this appearing a promising
direction, to select a fit place for camping, if possible, at about
16,000 feet — that being the greatest height up to which it was
probable we should be able to force natives and mules.'' This was
a mission they were thoroughly competent to execute, and they
left me at Guaranda to carry on work in which they could have
rendered very little assistance.

It is stated in the Introduction that the main object of
this journey was to observe the effects of low pressures ; that,
to experience them, it was necessary to get to great elevations ;
and that, in order to discriminate between the effects which might
properly be attributed to low pressures and those which might
be due to fatigue, it was necessary to eliminate the latter. To
accomplish this, it was obviously better to have dealings with
mountains easy of access than with those involving high gym-
nastics, and Chimborazo had seemed especially favourable for

1 It will be explained at a later point why we considered this might be a
critical place.

2 They took Aneroid F with them, in order that I might be able to form an
idea of the height they reached, and 1 set the pointer in the movable rim to let
them know when they had attained the desired elevation.

CHAP. II. HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT. 27

these investigations on account of the apparent facility with
which previous travellers had attained great heights upon its
slopes.

I had relied implicitly upon the accounts of Humboldt and
Boussingault, and accepted without reserve their statements that
they had in 1802 and 1831 respectively reached the heights of
19,286 and 19,698 feet. There were matters in their relations
that I did not understand ; particularly, the divine speed with
which they descended. Yet I was more disposed to imagine that
they had incorrectly noted the times which had been occupied
than that there was any considerable mistake in the determina-
tion of their altitudes ; for both were provided with mercurial
barometers, and had had much exj^erience in the use of these
instruments in the field. It was natural to conclude that the
work must be simple if these travellers, unacquainted with the
art of mountaineering, and unprovided with professional assist-
ance, could reach so great elevations with such facility, and
descend at such a prodigious rate.

Alexander von Humboldt was in his 33rd year at the time
that he made his attempt to ascend Chimborazo. He had
enjoyed three years of continuous travel in South America, he
was inured to the peculiarities of the climate, and he had the
companionship of his friends Bonpland and Carlos Montufar — a
son of the Marquis de Selvalegre, one of the most important
personages of the district. They were all young men, and,
selecting a favourable moment for the enterprize, they made their
expedition under advantageous conditions. There are frequent
allusions to Chimborazo throughout the works of Humboldt,
and he evidently was profoundly impressed by his experiences.
Towards the close of his long life, and at an age when men
do not speak lightly, he declared that he still considered it was
the grandest mountain in the world.

Notwithstanding the frequent references to this occasion
which are made in the works of Humboldt, I am unable to

38 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

tell from his own writings where he actually went.^ He does
not give courses, or bearings, or such indications as enable one
to identify with certainty the positions to which he refers. He
states that upon June 23, 1802, he reached the height of

19,286 feet by 1 p.m., and that this was greater than he ^' had
dared hope for. In many places the ridge was not wider than

1 See Vue^ dam les Cordilleres, pp. 104-7; Aspects of Nature; Eleinere
Schriften; liecueil d' Observations Astrojtomiques, etc. etc. I think it better to
adopt aJ authoritative the account which is given in Karl Bruhns' Life of
Humboldt (8vo, Lond., 1873, vol. 1, pp. 311-315) than to attempt to construct a
narrative from these diverse relations. His biographer must be assumed to be
fully acquainted with all that has been written on the subject.

CHAP. II. BOUSSINGAULT'S ATTEMPTS. 29

from eight to ten inches. To our left a precipice covered with
snow. - . . On the right was a fearful abyss. . . . The rock
became more friable and the ascent increasingly difficult and
dangerous. We were obliged to use both hands and feet. We
advanced all the more slowly, as every place that seemed in-
secure had first to be tested.'^ These are some of the expressions
used in regard to places which were passed over in the earlier
part of the day. Higher up, '^'one after another all began to feel
indisposed, and experienced a feeling of nausea accompanied by
giddiness. . . . Blood exuded from the lips and gums.''^ At last
they were stopped by a ravine '^some 400 feet deep and 60 feet
wide, which presented an insurmountable barrier. We could see
clearly that the ridge on which we stood continued in the same
direction on the other side of the ravine. . . . There was no
means of getting round the cleft. . . . The softness of the snowy
mass prohibited such an attempt." This was the turning-point.
Its height was determined by observation of mercurial barometer
at 19,286 feet. They remained there but a short time, and when
about half-way down encountered a violent hail-storm, which a
little later was succeeded by snow. The fiakes fell so thickly
that the ridge was covered several inches deep. He says that
they left their highest point a little after 1 p.m., and at a few
minutes after 2 reached the place where they had left their mules
(at 15,600 feet), that is to say, he claims to have descended
3686 feet in one hour!^

Joseph-Dieudonne Boussingault was in his 29th year when he
attempted to ascend Chimborazo in 1831, and had been living
for several years in elevated regions in the neighbourhood of
the Equator. He was accompanied by an American (Col. Hall)
and a Negro. On Dec. 14, they went to " the farm of Chim-
bor;

' See Appendix G at the end of this volume, where tlie relation from Karl
Bruhns is given in full.

2 This, I conjecture, is the place now called Chuquipoquio.

30 TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES. chap. ii.

(12,467 feet), and at 7 a.m. on the 15th, under the guidance
of an Indian, followed a rivulet enclosed between walls of rock,
"whose waters descend from the glacier;^ but very soon/' he
says, " we quitted this fissure, in order to direct our steps
towards Mocha. ^ We rose very gradually, and our mules
walked with difficulty through the debris of rock. The slope
then became very rapid, the ground was unstable, and the
mules stopped almost at every step. They no longer obeyed
the spur. The breathing of the animals was hurried and
panting. We were then at an elevation of 4808 metres (15,774
feet)."' They left the mules at this height, and '' began to
ascend a ridge which abutted on a very elevated point of the
glacier. It was mid-day. We went up slowly ; and as we got
higher on the snow the difficulty of breathing and walking
became more and more felt ; but we easily regained our
strength by stopping at every eight or ten steps. As we went
on, we felt extreme fatigue from the want of consistency in
the snowy soil, which gave way continually under our feet,
and in which we sank sometimes up to the waist. We were
soon convinced of the impossibility of proceeding. We went
to rest on a block of trachyte, at an elevation of 5115 metres
(16,781 feet). Thus, after much fatigue, we had only risen
307 metres (1007 feet) higher than the place whence we had
set out. At 6 o'clock we were back at the farm.''

They determined to make another attempt. '' The weather
had been splendid, and Chimborazo had never appeared so magni-
ficent. We resolved," he says, '' to try to ascend the steep side,
that is to say, by the slope facing the Arenal. We knew that
it was upon this side M. de Humboldt had ascended, and we
had been shewn at Riobamba the point he had reached, but it was

1 It is curious to note that Boussingault here refers to a glacier, although
elsewhere he says that he has seen only 07te glacier in the Tropics, upon the mount-
ain Tunguragua.

2 From this it appears that they made for the easternmost glacier of Chimborazo,
which is marked K upon my map.

CHAP. ir. A LIVELY DESCENT. 31

impossible to obtain precise information about tlie route which he
had followed to get there.'" They set out at 7 a.m. on Dec. 16,
for the Arenal/ and by 9 o'clock had got to a height of 4335
metres (14,223 feet), and stopped for breakfast. At 10.45 a.m.,
they left their mules at a height of 4945 metres (16,224 feet), that
is to say, they had got them 2000 feet upwards in an hour and
three-quarters, including the time occupied by breakfast and
reading the barometer. At 12.45 they were at a height of 5680
metres (18,636 feet), or had monnted 2412 feet more in two hours,,
including the stoppages necessary for further observations of the
barometer and the formation of a geological collection, notwitli-
standing that they had to pause every six or eight steps to get
breath. Here they halted for rest, and again read the barometer,
yet at 1.45 p.m. they had reached a height of 6004 metres
(19,698 feet), although npon this section they ^'were obliged to
stop every two or three steps"" to get breath, and even to sit
down. They commenced to descend about 3 p.m., and at 4.45
arrived again at the height of 4335 metres (14,223 feet), that
is to say, descended 5475 feet in an hour and three-quarters.
Boussingault says the descent was wearisome (penible). It seems,
however, to have been rather lively. His average rate through-
out the whole of the descent was 52 ieet per minute, over slopes
on which a thin coating of snow lay over ice, where step-cutting
was necessary; over a ' mauvais pas," and a ^ nappe de glace,"
where ^a slip would have been fatal"; and talus, ''quite im-

1 Boussingault, like Humboldt, gives neither courses nor bearings. He appears
to have followed the ordinary track round the mountain, and must have arrived
at the Arenal by passing through the place called Tortorillas. The speed with
which he now travels is remarkable, and is very much faster than the rates
quoted for his first attempt.

He evidently intended to follow the route taken by Humboldt ; and presum-
ably he did so, as nothing subsequently is said to the contrary. I endeavoured
in 1879 to learn more particulars from M. Boussingault about the route he fol-
lowed. He informed me that he could not at that distance of time (forty-eight
years) remember anything more than he had published. Boussingault died in
1887, aged 83.

32 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

practicable for mules/ ^ But he was beaten by Humboldt, who
descended 3686 feet in sixty minutes, or at an average rate of
sixty-one feet ]per minute, down a ridge which in many places
was not wider than from eight to ten inches, with friable rock
w^hich had to be climbed ; where every loose place had first to
be tested, and from the insecurity of the footing greater caution
was necessary than during the ascent — the last part of the way
being through a storm which covered the ridge with several
inches of snow. This is a divine rate for men encumbered with
mercurial barometers, and laden with geological collections.

I had not imagined that we should equal these extraordinary
rates of speed. I did not, and do not, understand how they
were accomplished.^ It had seemed to me probable that the
times which were occupied were incorrectly noted. My per-
plexities were increased when I saw Chimborazo from Guaranda,
and studied the mountain in connection with the narratives of
these two famous travellers. I was roughly disillusionized.
Accepting its height as 21,425 feet, a fair notion could be
formed where 19,500 feet would come ; and it was evident that
no one could stand at that elevation, at any part of the mount-
ain, without having glaciers in front, behind, and upon each
side, and that no one could gain that elevation without, also,
passing over glacier.

It now seemed probable that the altitudes had also been
incorrectly determined, and I began to take more interest in
the elevation of Chimborazo. The height of this mountain has

^ For the full account, from which these quotations are made, see Appendix H,
at the end of this volume. The title of the original is Ascension au Chimborazo,
execute le 16 decembre, 1831, par M. Boussingault.

"^ When writing Scrambles amongst the Alps, I tabulated a large number of
ascents of the principal Alpine peaks to obtain a notion of the average rate of
progression of mountaineers iu general ; and found that 1000 feet per hour, taking
the mean of ascent and descent, was a respectable rate, including halts. That
is to say, ten hours would be a fair allowance for the ascent and descent of
5000 feet involving work of moderate difficulty. This, however, had reference to
unencumbered men, and to mountain work less than 16,000 feet above the sea.

CHAP. II. TEE BAROMETERS. 33

undergone vicissitudes. Sometimes it has been greater and
sometimes smaller.^ Humboldt says {^^ Aspects of Nature, vol. 1,
p. 96) that until 1820 it was still regarded as '^the highest
summit on the surface of the earth." ^ It looked very large
from Guaranda. The snowy part that was visible (and this was
only a fraction of the whole) extended nearly over a point of
the compass (ten degrees and a half). We were more than
twice the distance from it that the Brevent is from Mont Blanc^
yet at that distance its crevasses and schrunds appeared larger
and more formidable than the crevasses on Mont Blanc which
can be seen from the Brevent. It was clear that an ascent was
not to be effected without labour. The route that I j)i'oposed
to take seemed the easiest if not the only way by which it
could be ascended on the side of the Arenal.

While the Carrels were away prospecting, I gave attention to
the barometers, for measurement of atmospheric pressure was the
first consideration, as this was at the bottom of all the work which
was to be undertaken. I took to Ecuador two mountain mercurial
barometers of the Fortin pattern/ as well as boiling-point ther-
mometers and aneroids. Although the employment of aneroids,
and the boiling-water method are recommended in works of
authority* for the determination of differences of pressure, I

^ Juan and Ulloa made it 21,615 feet ; La Condamine, 20,592 feet ; Humboldt,
21,425 feet; and Reiss and Stiibel, 20,703 feet.

^ This teaching seems to have prevailed at a later date, for in the first and
second editions of E. Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh, published in 185(>-7, the
following passage occurs : —

"I learnt the royal genealogies
Of Oviedo, the internal laws

Of the Burmese empire, ... by how many feet
Mount Chimborazo outsoars Himmeleh."

3 And left a third one (Kew pattern) with Mr. Chambers for simultaneous
comparisons at Guayaquil.

* See Hints to Travellers, sixth edition, pp. 89, 305, 309, etc.

34 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ir.

felt that observations made by them would not command confi-
dence ; but as the transport of mercurial barometers is a ticklish
matter^ and they seldom survive prolonged use, I carried boiling-
point thermometers and aneroids as a reserve in case of accident,
and took every opportunity to compare the indications of the
three kinds of instruments, to instruct myself how far they
agreed wlien used in the field.

All the instruments arrived at Guaranda in safety.^ From
London to Bodegas they had been in my own charge, and I
then handed the two Fortius over to Jean-Antoine, who, to
ensure the safety of these delicate instruments, walked the
greater part of the way from Bodegas to Guaranda. From the
unceasing attention that they required, the barometers were
nicknamed '^the babies," and many children would be fortunate
indeed if they were tended with the loving care which he
bestowed upon those mercurial infants.

The two Fortin barometers were verified before departure at
Kew Observatory,^ and were hung alongside each other at
Guaranda. The mean of the readings of these two barometers,
I'educed to 32° Faht., was the standard to which all the other
observations were referred.

The boiling-point thermometers were in two series (150° —
185°, and 180° — 215°), in order to have each degree a good
length ; and a number of experimental comparisons were made
with them, upon which a few general observations are offered
in vVppendix D.

Seven aneroids were taken to the interior of Ecuador.^ All
of these were made for the journey, and they were frequently

1 Except one aneroid, which was either lost or stolen. During our halt at
S. Jose de Chimbo, an Ecuadorian who heard that I carried aneroids was very
urgent to buy one. I shewed him mine, and on arrival at Guaranda found that
one of them had disappeared. A reward was offered for its recovery, without result.

2 A facsimile of the Certificate of Verification of No. 558 is given in Appendix C.

3 And an eighth was left with Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil, as a reserve in
case of accident to the mercurial barometer.

CHAP. II. COMPARISONS OF TILE ANEROIDS. 35

tested before departure under the air-pump, and compared with the
Makers' Standard, as well as compared with my own standards
which had been, as I have said, verified at Kew. The prime
reason for carrying so many aneroids was the apprehension that,
despite the care which was taken of the mercurial barometers,
I might be suddenly deprived of them by some unhappy smash ;
and, having a number, the occasion was favourable for comparing
the actual working of the two classes of barometers.

AVhilst aneroids are much recommended by some persons, by
others they are much condemned. Though it is common to hear
them spoken of as unreliable it is certain that differences of
pressure can be determined by them with marvellous accuracy.
When I sought for information or instruction how and why
they were unreliable I obtained no satisfaction, and I was
unable to learn that any one had ever taken the trouble to
compare the actual w^orking in the field of aneroids against the
mercurial barometer at low pressures.^ The recommendations in
favour of aneroids have been made, it is to be presumed, on the
assumytion that they do read against the mercurial barometer
with the same degree of accuracy when employed in the field
as they do when tested against it under the air-pump.

This seemed to be a fit subject for investigation, and I
entered upon the enquiry without prepossessions either for or
against aneroids, cherishing the hope that the means of several
would closely accord with the mercurial barometer, — a hope that
I entertained because these instruments seemed to be pretty
equally divided between those which had a tendency to read too
high and those which had a tendency to read too low. The
idea was that the plus errors of some might or would balance
the minus errors of others.

This hope was speedily dissipated. I found that my aneroids
did not read against the mercurial barometer when used in the

^ I do not ignore Mr. Glaisher's comparisons in balloon. See Appendix A,

§ 18.

36 TEAVULS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

field with the same accuracy, or in the same manner, as they
had done when tested under the air-pump, and that their
behaviour was perplexing. Upon leaving Guayaquil (just above
the level of the sea), one of the seven read higher than the
mercurial barometer, and the six others all read lower than it,
though not to a large extent. The mean of the readings of the
whole of the aneroids was 0'055 of an inch lower than the
mercurials, and the seven instruments differed amongst each
other to the extent of 0*346 of an inch. It was to be expected
that they would continue to differ amongst each other, and that
the greatest difference would increase, as this is what is com-
monly found to occur in most assemblages of aneroids. The
object of comparison in the field was to determine whether
increase of the differences amongst the aneroids would affect
the mean error of the whole when compared with the mercurial
barometer ; that is to say, would the mean error of the aneroids
remain 0*055 of an inch, or would it become materially altered ?

It became apparent at an early stage of the journey that
the means of the aneroids shewed larger and larger depart-
ures from the mercurial barometer. After a little time, each
individual instrument indicated loiver pressures than the mer-
curial barometer.^ By the time we arrived at Guaranda the
mean error of the aneroids had increased from —0*055 to
— 0*520 of an inch, and it augmented daily. ^ In the course
of the narrative I shall point out from time to time the
exceedingly serious errors which would have been fallen into
in determination of altitudes if I had been obliged to rely
upon aneroids alone. ^

AVhen the weather was favourable I took out the camera,

1 Aneroid D, the one which read higher than the mercurials at Guayaquil, by
the time we arrived at Tambo Gobierno had a minus error of 0'359 of an inch.

"^ See Appendix C, § 5, and the tables showing the constant growth of the
"greatest difference," and the "mean error of aneroids."

3 Those who desire to pursue this subject are referred to the pamphlet How
to use the Aneroid Barometer, which is published simultaneously with this volume.

CHAP. II.

m STAN TAN EO US EXEC UTION.

and photographed Chimborazo, and the Spanish girl with the
lustrous eyes, and other objects of interest ; which came to the
ears of the Authorities, and then tliey wished to be photographed,
along with their progeny. It was difficult to refuse, but I
grudged a plate on them alone, and sent out Mr. Perring to
pick up subjects with a stronger local flavour, to include in
the group ; and, with an excess of zeal, he pounced down upon
the first person he came across, an old Indian woman, and
drove her before him into the courtyard. She came in crying
and screeching, clasping her hands, and
appealing to the Almighty to save her from
my cruelty. " What have I done,^^ she
shrieked, '^ that I should be seized and
brought here to be killed ? Senor Patron I
spare my life ! What have I done to be
treated thus ? '^ — a speech which drew a
roar of laughter from the others, who were
waiting to be executed.^

• The Carrels returned, very tired, at 8.45
a.m. on Dec. 23, bringing a good report.
To shew the height they had attained, they
had placed the pointer attached to the
movable rim of the aneroid against 15*370
inches. They had traversed the ground
intervening between the Arenal and the

ridge I proposed to follow, and Jean-Antoine had selected a
camping-place upon it ; but they thought that we should be
unable to reach this spot comfortably, with a laden team, in one
day from Guaranda, and spoke emphatically of the fatigue they
had experienced in pounding up a sandy vallon leading to it.
They had accordingly selected another and lower camping-place

THE CHIEF OF THE POLICE.

1 It was explained afterwards that her fright was due to the Chief of the
Police, whose office was in our courtyard. Perring was supposed by her to be
one of his in3Tmidons.

38 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

on the northern side of the Arenal^ at the base of the mountain,
and proposed that on the first day we should not try to go
farther.

The needle of Aneroid F pointed to 15*370 inches when the
Carrels were at the place that they selected for the higher
camp, and as the corresponding figures on the '^ scale of feet"'
were 19,122 they could have fairly claimed to have reached that
height '^ by aneroid.^' I estimated that they had only got about
as high as 16,450 feet. The Aneroid F, at all stages of the
journey, read lotver' than the mercurial barometers. At Guaya-
quil its error was — 0*172 ; at Muiiapamba it was —0*208 ; at
Tambo Gobierno it was —0*629 ; and, upon arrival at Guaranda,
— 0*708 of an inch.^ Its error constantly increased. When
they left Guaranda on Dec. 21 it amounted to —0*890 of an
inch, and on their return upon the 23rd it had risen to — 1*080
inches. I assumed that the error was regularly increasing, and
that when they reached their highest point, soon after mid-day
on the 22nd, it amounted to one inch. In that case, the true
barometric reading would be 16*370 inches.

The figures corresponding with 16*370 inches upon the
^^ scale of feet'" were 17,400, but from this amount I subtracted
950 feet, for the following reason. Aneroid F (like a great
part of the aneroids which are in use) had its zero, or level of
the sea, at 31 inches, and made 30 inches correspond with a
height of 894 feet above the sea.^ I assumed that atmospheric
pressure at the level of the sea on Dec. 22 was a little less
than 30 inches,^ and deducted 950 feet accordingly. This

1 It should not be supposed that this was due to bad graduation, I had seen
this aneroid, like all the others when tested under the an-pump, accord inch by
inch with the attached mercurial barometer.

^ See How to use the Aneroid Barometer, pp. 56-7.

2 This could be assumed with some probability, as the variations in atmospheric
pressure are small in Ecuador. See Appendix B.

Upon return to Guayaquil, I found that Mr. Chambers had recorded 29957
inches (mere. bar. reduced to 32°) as the reading at 11 a.m. on Dec. 22.

WE START FOR CIIIMBORAZO.

reduced the height of the place they had selected for the
second camp to 16,450 feet, and up to that spot, they said,
animals might be taken.

AVe now thought that there was nothing to hinder us from
starting on the 24th, but upon discussing matters with the
arrieros it appeared that our departure must be postponed, as
they would not be absent from Guaranda on Christmas Day.
At 9.45 a.m. on the 26th our troop of fourteen animals (ten

for baggage and four
for riding) filed out of
the yard,^ followed by
three arrieros and two
Indians who were em-
ployed to carry some
long poles which were
wanted for signals and
other uses. The Priest
blessed me and mine,
and all that we had.
The Chief of the Police,
dressed in his best,
came to see us oif ;
while the populace of Gruaranda sat on a wall and regarded us
with stolidity.

The Indians were supplied by the Authorities, and proved
an undesirable contingent. They lagged behind under various
pretences, with the obvious intention of bolting, and would
speedily have disappeared had not somebody kept in the rear
to prevent their escape.^ One of them, an exceptionally sulky

THE POPULACE AT GUARANDA.

1 The price demanded for baggage or riding animals in Ecuador was generally
very moderate. On this occasion it was a 7:)e.so (equal to about 2s. 8d.) per day
and forage.

2 They were paid in advance, according to the custom of the country, and
had to be provided with shoes. Although natives of all sorts were continually

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ii.

and stubborn fellow, carried his poles in such a manner that
they struck everything we passed, and by these and other
antics delayed us so considerably that we occupied seven hours
in getting to the Arenal. After crossing its summit, we left the
usual Quito track (which passes by Tortorillas) on our right,

and under the leading of Jean-
Antoine steered a nearly north-
north-easterly course over the
upper and level portion of the
great plain. The sun w^as
approaching the horizon, and
threw immensely long shadows
upon the luminous sand. Carrel
guided us to the spot he had
selected, just at the mouth
of a vallon leading directly
towards the western summit.^
We camped under a moonlit
sky by the side of a tiny
stream. The night was still
and cold, and at meal-time we
all — mountaineers, arrieros, and
Indians — sat together round a
blazing fire in the centre of the
encampment. The temperature
fell unexpectedly low. The minimum thermometer registered
21° Faht., and our little brook became a mass of solid ice.
The remains of the soup in the cooking utensils were frozen up,
cruelly hard, — but it was harder still to find in the morning
that the Indians and five of the mules had disappeared.

~^,'* '■

ONE OF OUR ARRIEROS.

met with trudging bare-footed along the roads, whenever one was hired he
found himself unable to walk without shoes, and that he had none.

^ Left Guaranda 9.45 a.m. ; arrived at Ensillada 1.50 p.m. Halted 45 min.
Arrived at summit of Arenal 4.45 p.m.; and at Camp 1 (14,375 feet) at 5.50 p.m.

AIGUILLES ON CHIMBORAZO.

CHAPTER III.

THE FIRST ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO.

The temperature in the night was unexpectedly low for so
moderate an elevation as that of the first camp. Only a week
before, at Tortorillas, we had experienced 56°. 5 at mid-day, and
I scarcely anticipated that the freezing-point would be touched
at the height of 14,000 feet in the neighbourhood of the Equator.^
This sharp frost caused me to observe the nocturnal minima
at our subsequent camps, and, from the table that is given in
Appendix E, it will be seen that the minimum of the night of
Dec. 26 was below the average. It occurred upon an excep-
tionally fine night, with a clear sky.

^ The only information I possessed upon temperatures of any sort at considerable
elevations in Ecuador was that published by Boussingault in the Comptes Rendus,
in 1879, vol. Ixxxviii, p. 1241. This relates to the Hacienda of Antisana (13,306
feet), and is referred to more particularly in my chapter upon Antisana.

42 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iit.

The disappearance of the mules and Indians was a more
serious matter. The arrieros could afford to take it coolly, as the
hire of their animals had been paid in advance. Deprived of
seven backs, two journeys became necessary to the second camp,
and the best arrangement I could make was to despatch Jean-
Antoine in charge of the caravan, whilst Louis and I waited
below at the foot of the vallon, ostensibly to finish work there,
but really to prevent any more desertions.

Jean-Antoine went away at 10 a.m. on the 27th, with eight
laden mules, the three arrieros and Perring. He was to remain
above, to commence the establishment of the camp, and to send
the team back as soon as it could be unloaded. One mule was
retained below, for this beast seemed to be oppressed with such
a load of melancholy (which I attributed to sore ribs) that I
had not the heart to send it higher. Louis was well employed
in collecting firewood, and in transferring surplus stores up the
vallon to a depot ; whilst I, after finishing my proper work, went
aside, and stripped for a real good wash before going to regions
where ablutions were unknown. Presently there was a noise,
and I became aware that the mule had broken loose and was
frisking about. The animal rejoiced in freedom, and, intoxicated
by success, went as near to standing upon its head as a mule
can go. Its behaviour seemed to me supremely ungrateful, and
I went for that animal. It ran away ; but it was handicapped,
for it had a long halter, which trailed along the sandy plain,
whilst I ran unimpeded, and gained on it at every stride. When
I seized the halter it was I who was captured. The wretched
beast dragged me unmercifully over the sandy soil until Louis
came to my assistance, and we then towed it in triumph back
to camp.

On the side of the Great Arenal three vallons lead up into
Chimborazo.^ One of these, narrow at its mouth and broader
above, is bounded at its upper extremity by the glacier which

I See the map of Chimborazo inset on the large general map.

CHAP. III. ON MOUNTAIN-SICKNESS. 43

is marked G upon my map. This one we naturally termed the
Vallon de Tortorillas. The next towards the west — the Yallon
de Debris — leads to the glacier marked F. The third, still
farther to the west, was that up which our caravan had gone.
I called this the Vallon de Carrel. The Great Arenal stretches
along the base of the ridges that divide these little valleys.^ In
the vicinity of Tortorillas its soil is grassy, and affords pasturage
to sheep and cattle ; but vegetation becomes more and more
sparse as one proceeds towards the west, and ultimately it
almost entirely disappears. The soil in the centre of the plain
is composed of fragments of lava — much of it scoriaceous ; they
presently become smaller and more equal in size, and on the
west of the plain the surface is composed of what can only be
called fine sand, which drifts in this direction. This is partly
volcanic dust, and probably is partly derived from attrition
of the larger fragments. Much of the matter was no doubt
ejected by Ohimborazo, but it is certainly to some extent sup-
plemented by the volcanic dust which is constantly floating
about the country, and is borne by the prevalent winds towards
the south-west.

This sandy soil was very loose, and toilsome to ascend even
upon moderate gradients. Hence I was surprised that our caravan
returned soon after 1 p.m., having occupied only a little more
than three hours in going to and returning from the second camp.
After allowing the animals a rest, they were reloaded with as
much as was good for them, and the remainder of the provisions
and stores were left in depot at the entrance of the Vallon de
Carrel. At this point I must stop to explain more particularly
the manner in which it was proposed to conduct our operations.

Neither of the two Carrels, nor I myself, had ever experi-
enced the least symptom of mountain-sickness. None of us,

^ These vallons cannot be seen in the view facing p. 24. They are hidden by
the ridge that stretches across the engraving.

44 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iii.

however, prior to this journey had been 16,000 feet high ; and,
probably, had never sustained so low a pressure as 17 inches.
I had at various times been in the company of j^ersons who
said they were affected by '^ rarefaction of the air," and who were
unable to proceed ; but their symptoms, so far as I observed
them, might have been j)roduced by fatigue and unfamiliarity
with mountaineering, and were not of the more acute kind.
Although I attached little importance to such cases as had come
under my own personal observation, I had never felt disposed to
question the reality of mountain-sickness ; and on the contrary
had frequently maintained that it is reasonable to expect some
effects should be produced upon men who experience much lower
atmospheric pressures than those to which they are accustomed ;
and that it is much more remarkable to find that, apparetitly,
no effects of a detrimental kind are caused on many persons
who ascend to the height of 14-15,000 feet (or, say, sustain a
pressure of seventeen and a half inches), than it is to learn that
others have suffered at slightly lower pressures. The thing that
seemed most puzzling was that, at the greatest heights I had
reached, instead of appearing to suffer any injurious effects, the
effects seemed positively beneficial ; and from this I thought it
was not unlikely that we should be able to reach much more
considerable heights, and to sustain considerably lower pressures,
without being adversely affected.

Some of my friends, however, who had been as high as
17-18,000 feet, competent mountaineers, and men who could
speak without exaggeration, told me that they had not been at
all comfortable at such elevations. It seemed certain that sooner
or later we should suffer like the rest of the world, but I pro-
posed to put off' the evil day as long as possible ; to mount
gradually and leisurely, by small stages, so that there should be
no abrupt transition ; and to get to the lowest attainable press-
ures (the greatest heights) by the simplest means that could
be devised, and by the easiest routes that could be found, in

CHAP. III. THE COMMISSARIAT. 45

order that extreme exertion and fatigue should take no part in
anything that might happen. This will explain why we pro-
ceeded so deliberately. Should it be found necessary, I was
prepared to devote the whole of the time that I could remain
in Ecuador to Chimborazo alone. I did not see fit either before
our departure from Europe, or at any period of the journey, to
communicate the nature of my objects to my assistants, or what
was likely to befall them. At starting, they were only aware
that we should proceed to South America, and that they would
be employed in mountain work, at great elevations.

As it would be impossible to retain natives at our higher
camps, and we ourselves might be detained at them by bad
weather or from other causes even for weeks at a time, it was
necessary to be well provided with food ; and as it could not
be expected that we should be able to obtain on the spot pro-
visions which would keep for a length of time, I concluded,
before leaving Europe, that to work with certainty we must
make ourselves entirely independent of the resources of the
country in the matter of the food which would be consumed at
the greatest heights. A large quantity of the most portable and
most condensed provisions accordingly went out for our use.^

These provisions were packed in boxes measuring 28 J x llj
X 10 J inches, weighing about 72 lbs. apiece. Each of these boxes
contained three tin cases, measuring 9J x 9 x 8J inches, and each
tin case held food for four men for one day. The tins, being
thoroughly soldered down, could be left exposed in the worst
weather, or dipped in water without taking harm. The contents
comprised nearly everything that was requisite except water and
firing. A great saving of time was effected in the field by

1 By persons having commercial relations with Ecuador, it was considered very-
absurd to take food to that country. I was told before departure that everything
one could possibly want could be obtained there. It is indeed true that nearly
everything mmj be obtained in Ecuador. It is also true that we often had great
difficulty in obtaining anything. My surplus stores were sold to advantage.
Medicines and other things brought high prices.

46 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

arranging the food in this manner, and it relieved me from the
necessity of continual calculations, and from apprehensions that
some of the minor requisites might be forgotten.^

For a thousand feet above the first camp, our reladen caravan
progressed at a fair pace, and then (pressure being about 17*250
inches) straggling commenced. My own mule reached the head
of the vallon (about 16,000 feet above the sea) without shewing
signs of exhaustion. It then struck work, and I dismounted.
So far, the bed of the vallon was loose, sandy soil, with little
vegetation. Our course then turned to the right, that is towards
the east, up the western slopes of the south-west ridge of Chim-
borazo, and led by steeper gradients over firm ground, covered

1 Each tin case contained : — Ox-cheek, 2 lbs. ; Mutton, 2 lbs. ; Beef, 2 lbs. ;
Potted ham, one tin ; Liebig's extract, 2 ozs., in tin ; Preserved soup, 2 pint tins;
Cocoa and milk, one tin ; Condensed milk, one tin ; Susrar, 4 ozs. ; Mustard, 1 oz. ;
Salt, 2 ozs. ; Pepper, 1 oz. ; Biscuits, about 2 lbs., in tin ; Lemonade powder, in tin ;
Seidlitz powders, in tin ; 3 pills ; small bottle of Chlorodyne ; Black-currant and
cayenne lozenges, 2 ozs. ; Muscatelles, 12 ozs. ; Tea, 3 ozs. These quantities were
found sufficient, or more than enough, with the exception of sugar. Irrespective of
things which were bought already tinned, more than 2000 tins were soldered down.

The interstices between the circular tins were filled in with candles, in tin tubes,
and the smaller spaces were taken up with bead-necklaces and various articles for
presents, and the whole contents were jammed tight with cotton wool, tow and
paper. Mustard, pepper, salt and other small articles were taken in glass bottles
fitted into tin tubes. All the glass bottles were subsequently used for the preserva-
tion of natural history specimens. There was no waste, and, in consequence of the
care which was taken in packing, not a single bottle was broken, and nothing
whatever was spoiled or even injured by damp.

The boxes were of the best deal, planed smooth, with rounded edges and corners,
and were double-varnished. The lids were screwed down, and the screws worked
into metal cups, so that the lids should not be overscrewed. Many of these cases
came back in serviceable condition.

Except when installed at great heights, the food that was arranged in this
manner was treated as reserved stock. At Guaranda, and other places where they
could be obtained, we laid in fref^h provisions.

A list of the rest of the outfit Avill be found in Hints to Travellers^ fifth edition,
pp. 284-288. The preparation of it occupied almost as much time as the per-
formance of the journey.

CHAP. III. ARRIVAL AT THE SECOND CAMP. 47

with shattered blocks of lava fallen from the arete above. ^ I
patted and coaxed my animal on for a few yards, and then it
stopped again. It clearly found difficulty in supporting its own
weight. By continued encouragement, it was induced to advance
a few steps at a time ; but the halts became more frequent, and,
impatient of delay, I pushed on, and left it to pursue its course by
itself. Looking back, to see how the rest were progressing, I
found that they were scattered over about half-a-mile, and that
all the animals were in difficulties, though none carried more
than one hundred and sixty pounds.

Carrel had selected a position for the second camp with much
Judgment, at the foot of a wall of lava, which perfectly protected
the tent on one side. The place was easy of access, and the
highest point to which mules could be taken ; with snow-beds
in its vicinity that would yield water, and ground round about
it upon which we could exercise. The baggage animals struggled
upwards one by one, and by 5.30 p.m. all had arrived.^ The
barometer stood at this place at sixteen inches and a half.

We were all in high spirits. The weather had been fine, and
the move had been successfully effected. It was arranged that

one of the arrieros, F by name, should sleep at Tortorillas,

and come up daily to learn what was needed ; and all the rest of
the troop were sent back to Guaranda. They left us very gladly ;
for although we had succeeded in establishing our camp at the
selected spot, it had only been done by great exertions on the
part of my people and their beasts. The mules were forced up
to the last yard they could go, and staggering under their burdens
(which were scarcely more than half the weight they were accus-
tomed to carry), stopjied repeatedly, and by their trembling,
falling on their knees, and by their general behaviour, shewed

J Upon any mule pass in the Alps, this would have been considered quite
ordinary, and easy ground.

2 The average time they took in coming from the first to the second camp was
two hours.

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

that they had been driven to
the verge of exhaustion. When
we others arrived at the second
camp, we ourselves were in good
condition, — which was to be ex-
]3ected, as we had ridden most
of the way ; but in about an
hour I found myself lying on
my back, along with both the
Carrels, placed hors de comhat,
and incapable of making the
least exertion. We knew that
the enemy was upon us, and that
we were experiencing our first
attack of mountain-sickness.

THE SECOND CAMP ON CHIMBORAZO (16,664 FEET).

CHAP. III. INCAPABLE. ■ 49

We were feverish, had intense headaches, and were unable to
satisfy our desire for air, except by breathing with open mouths.
This naturally parched the throat, and produced a craving for
drink, which we were unable to satisfy, — partly from the difficulty
in obtaining it, and partly from trouble in swallowing it. AVhen
we got enough, we could only sip, and not to save our lives could
we have taken a quarter of a pint at a draught. Before a mouth-
ful was down, we were obliged to breathe and gasp again, until
our throats were as dry as ever. Besides having our normal rate
of breathing largely accelerated, we found it impossible to sustain
life without every now and then giving spasmodic gulps, just
like fishes when taken out of water. Of course there was no
inclination to eat ; but we wished to smoke, and found that our
pipes almost refused to burn, for they, like ourselves, wanted
more oxygen.

This condition of affairs lasted all night, and all the next day,
and I then managed to pluck up spirit enough to get out some
chlorate of potash, which by the advice of Dr. W. Marcet, had
been brought in case of need. Chlorate of potash was, I believe,
first used in mountain travel by Dr. Henderson, in the Karakorum
range, and it was subsequently employed on Sir Douglas Forsyth^s
Mission to Yarkund in 1873-4, apparently with good effect.^
Before my departure. Dr. Marcet (with whom I had been in com-
munication) urged me to experiment, with a view of confirming

' The surgeon to this expedition states that he distributed little bottles of it
amongst the members of the embassy, and says that, from his own experience, he
"can testify to its value in mitigating the distressing symptoms produced by a
continued deprivation of the natural quantity of oxygen in the atmosphere. The
large proportion of oxygen contained in the salt probably supplies to the blood
what in these regions it fails to derive from the air, and thus restores through
the stomach what the lungs lose. Whatever the explanation of its action, however,
there is no doubt of its efficacy in relieving the dreadful nausea and headache
produced by the circulation of an inefficiently oxygenated blood." — Kashmir and
Kashgar, by H. W. Bellew, C.S.I.

I have been informed by members of this expedition that they ate, or munched,
dry chlorate of potash.

50 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

these experiences. Ten grains to a wine glass of water was
the proportion he recommended, — the dose to be repeated every
two or three hours, if necessary. It appeared to me to operate
beneficially, though it must be admitted that it was not easy to
determine, as one might have recovered just as well without
taking it at all. At all events, after taking it, the intensity of
the symptoms diminished, there were fewer gaspings, and in some
degree a feeling of relief.

Louis Carrel also submitted himself to experiment, and seemed
to derive benefit ; but Jean-Antoine sturdily refused to take any
'^ doctor's stuff,' which he regarded as an insult to intelligence.
For all human ills, for every complaint, from dysentery to want
of air, there was, in his opinion, but one remedy ; and that was
Wine ; most efficacious always if taken hot, more especially if
a little spice and sugar were added to it.

The stories that he related respecting the virtues of Eed wine
would be enough to fill a book. The wine must be Eed —
^^ White wine," he used to say dogmatically, ^^is bad, it cuts the
legs." Most of these legends I cannot remember, but there was
one which it was impossible to forget, commencing thus. " Eed
wine when heated and beaten up with raw eggs is good for
many complaints — ^particularly at the Eve of St. John, when the
moon is at the full, for women who are in the family way ; pro-
vided it is drunk whilst looking over the left shoulder, and " — I
never heard the end of that story, because I laughed too soon.

His opinions upon things in general were often very original,
and I learned much whilst in his company ; amongst the rest,
that, for the cure of headache, nothing better can be mentioned
than keeping the head 2varm and the feet cold. It is only fair
to say that he practised what he preached. I can remember no
more curious sight than that of this middle-aged man, lying
nearly obscured under a pile of ponchos, with his head bound up
in a wonderful arrangement of handkerchiefs, vainly attempting
to smoke a short pipe whilst gasping like a choking cod-fish,

CHAP. III. EXEMPLARY CONDUCT OF MB. PE BRING . 51

his naked feet sticking out from underneath his blankets when
the temperature in the tent was much below the freezing-point.

Strange to relate, Mr. Perring did not appear to be affected at
all. Except for him we should have fared badly. He kept the
fire going — no easy task, for the fire appeared to suffer from
the want of air just like ourselves, and required such incessant
blowing that I shall consider for the future a pair of bellows an
indispensable item in a mountaineer's equipment. Mr. Perring
behaved on this occasion in an exemplary manner. He melted
snow, and brought us drink, and attended to our wants in general,
and did not seem any worse at the second camp than at Guaranda.
Yet he was a rather debilitated man, and was distinctly less
robust than ourselves. He could scarcely walk on a flat road
without desiring to sit down, or traverse a hundred yards on a
mountain side without being obliged to rest.

It is natural to enquire how can one account for this man of
enfeebled constitution being unaffected, when three others, who
were all more or less accustomed to high elevations (low press-
ures), were rendered, for a time, completely incapable ? It seems
possible to afford a tolerably adequate explanation, but it is better
to reserve all comments upon our experiences until the conclusion
of the journey, and to proceed now with the narrative.

I was taken aback at this early admonition, for I expected
to have been able to sustain a lower pressure without being
adversely affected. Our symptoms did not differ in any material
point from those which have already been recorded by persons
deserving of credence, and, so far, the experience was not un-
expected ; but they appeared earlier than was anticipated, and,
when I got into a condition to think, I was greatly surprised at
the suddenness with which we were overtaken, and at the fact
that we succumbed nearly simultaneously. It is scarcely exag-
geration to say that in one hour we were all right, and that in
the next we were all wrong. Two out of the three had already
visited the place without being attacked.

52 TRA VELS AMONGST TEE GREA T ANDES, chap. hi.

The symptoms come under the three heads, headache, dis-
turbance of the natural manner of respiration, and feverishness.
Headache with all three of us was intense, and rendered us almost
frantic or crazy. Before 6 p.m. on Dec. 27, we had, I believe,
been entirely free from headache in Ecuador. My own continued
acute until the 30th, and then it disappeared gradually. With
Louis it did not last quite so long, and Jean-Antoine got better
sooner than his cousin. When it was at its maximum we all
seemed to be about equally afflicted. The interference with our
natural manner of respiration was even more troublesome. At
6 p.m. we could move about, talk, or eat and drink freely, while
at 8 p.m. and throughout the night of the 27th, eating would
have been impossible, and to talk or drink was difficult. We
could only gasp ejaculations, or a few words at a time, and efforts
at conversation were cut short by irrepressible, spasmodic gulps ;
while, during the whole time, respiration was effected through
open mouths, the ordinary amount, of air taken in through the
nostrils being found inadequate. We were all feverish, but no
observations were made until 1 p.m. on the 28th, when my own
temperature was found to be 100° '4 Faht.^ It was no doubt
considerably higher in the previous night. '^ On this head, nothing
can be said in regard to the Carrels ; for, though they spoke of
feverishness, they positively declined both then and at all times
to have their temperatures taken.

It will be understood from what has just been said that our
' incapacity ^ was neither due to exhaustion or to deficiency of
bodily strength, nor was owing to inability to cope with mount-
aineering difficulties or to weakness from want of food,^ but was
caused by the whole of our attention being taken up in efforts to

1 See Appendix F for the manner of observation. At Guaranda on Dec. 23 my
temperature was 98°-2; and at 10.30 a.m. on the 27th it was 98°-4.

2 This was a cold night. The minimum thermometer was fixed in position
before we were incapacitated, and so I linow that temperature on the night of the
27th again fell to 21° Faht.

^ The attack immediately followed a meal.

CHAP. III. LIFE AT LOW PRESSURES. 53

get air ; and my two assistants^ spontaneously and without any
questioning or prompting on my part, attributed the condition in
which we found ourselves to the ' rarity of the air ' at our second
camp. There is evidence of my own inability to perform my
regular work in the blanks in my journals at this date, and
further evidence of the reality of the attack in the fact that we
could not smoke. Two out of the three were habitual consumers
of tobacco, and had become slaves to this vice to such an extent
that they smoked conscientiously upon every opportunity. When
such persons put aside their beloved pipes there is certainly some-
thing Avrong. All three found smoking too laborious, and ceased
their efforts in a sort of despair. But it should not be understood,
from anything which may have been said, that I discussed the
subject with the Carrels, for I considered it best to leave them in
ignorance of the fact that they were the subjects of a scientific
enquiry.

There was a perceptible improvement in their condition on
the night of Dec. 28, though little in my own. On the 29th they
were eager to be off exploring, and I sent them away at 7.50 a.m.,
instructing them to continue the ascent of the south-west ridge ;
to look out for a higher camping-place ; and not to endeavour to
reach a great elevation. Owing to my lifeless condition, I should
only have hampered their movements by accompanying them,
and while they were away I turned my attention again to the
barometers.

The two mercurial barometers arrived safely at the second
camp. One of them (No. 550) was stowed away in a cleft in the
rocks, and the other (No. 558) was alone used on Chimborazo.
It may be of some service to travellers to mention the precautions
which were taken in regard to these instruments.

There are two principal reasons why so many mercurial baro-
meters are broken in the field. 1. Because they are insufficiently
protected when in transit ; and 2. because a bad method of sus-
pension is employed when they are being observed. Mountain

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. tit.

barometers are usually sent out by their makers in a zinc-lined
leather case (similar to that shewn in the annexed figure), and
are carried slung by straps across the shoulder, the large ends
uppermost, — that is to say,
with cisterns reversed. These
cases may give enough protec-
tion if the instruments are
carried along a road, or over
easy ground, but they do not
afford sufficient to withstand
the shocks, jolts, and accidents
of travel. Sometimes the case
is actually crushed in upon the
tube, and in other instances the
tube is broken by concussion,
although the case may not be
injured. Each of the ordinary
cases of my barometers was
again enclosed in a wooden
box, with deal sides and oak
ends, and was padded all around
with a quantity of tow to
deaden concussion. They were
always carried on the back,
upright, with the large ends
uppermost, and were kept in
position by knapsack straps.
Although they were treated
with the utmost care, they
had to sustain many accidental
knocks and jars, and upon

several occasions Jean-Antoine had to hastily throw himself off
his beast, as best he could, to avoid an utter smash. ^

' Each barometer in its case, as supplied by tlie maker, weighed 6 lbs. Each
additional wooden case weighed 6^ lbs. more.

CHAP. III.

METHOD OF SUSPENSION.

The stand usually supplied by instrument makers (see Fig. 1)
is one of the worst that can be devised for use out of doors. It is
bad because the base (D E F) of the pyramid formed by the tripod
is not large enough in proportion to its height ; because the point
of suspension (A) of the barometer (B C) is much too low ; because
the legs (A D, A E, A F) of the tripod are fixed in a rigid position,
and cannot be set in or out to accommodate the irregularities of
the ground ; and upon snow it is nearly useless because these thin
metal legs sink in to or beyond the cistern (C) before a sufficient
foundation can be obtained. A moderate breeze puts the baro-
meter in movement (though it should be perfectly at rest for a
good observation) and a slight knock may make it oscillate from
G to H. If the cistern should swing as far as X the stand will
overturn, and the barometer almost certainly will be destroyed.

I discarded the usual method of suspension, and hung the
barometers from the stands belonging to the theodolite (A J K L,
Fig. 2). The stability of these stands is infinitely greater than
that of the form usually employed ; their legs can be set in and
out to meet the requirements of each occasion ; and, when hung
in the manner shewn in the diagram, barometers have little tend-
ency to swing to and fro. No shock that is likely to occur will

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

make the cisterns move from M to N — though^ if they did so,
the stands would not be overturned. The actual method of

suspension at A, Fig. 2, is
a device of my own, and is
shewn in the accompanying
engraving, which renders
description unnecessary. To
set out a theodolite stand
and hang a barometer in
position upon this catch is
an affair of a few seconds,
while if the ordinary stand
is employed minutes are
occupied in the operation.

The mercurial barometer
read 16*476 inches at 11
a.m. on Dec. 28, 16-488
inches on the 29th, and
16-480 on the 30th. Mr.
Chambers, at Guayaquil,
made simultaneous obser-
vations on the 28th and 29th, and found no change in pressure
on the latter day. But while the mercurials were demonstrating
the remarkable stability of the barometer in Ecuador the aneroids
showed lotvei"- pressures on each successive day.

Dec. 28,

Dec. 29

Dec.

Place of

1879.

Observation.

Barometer.

11 a.m.

inches.

Second Camp .

Merc. Bar. No. 558 (corrected)

16-476

16-488

16-480

Guayaquil

do. No. 554 ( do. )

29-910

. . .

Second Camp .

Means of six Aneroids

15-643

15-611

15-577

Do.

Errors of means of Aneroids .

-0-833

-0-877

-0 903

Do.

Aneroid F . . . .

15-300

15-280

Do.

Error of Aneroid F •

-1-176

-1-188

-1-200

cuAP. III. CONFLICTING STATE3IENTS. 57

At the last reference to Aneroid F (p. 38) its error amounted
to — I'OSO of an inch. At the first camp on Chimborazo it was
increased to — 1'152 of an inch, and from the above record it will
be seen that it still augmented daily.

Thus, while the mercurial barometer shewed a slight increase
in pressure, the whole of the aneroids, on the other hand, indicated
pressure diminishing ^ If I had depended upon the latter instru-
ments, atmospheric pressure in Ecuador, instead of appearing, as
it is, remarkably steady,^ would have seemed liable to large fluc-
tuations, and very erroneous suppositions might have been based
upon these observations ; or if the altitude of the second camp had
been deduced from the means of the six aneroids it would have
come out about 1500 feet too high, through adopting a j^ressure
for the upper station nine-tenths of an inch lower than the truth.

The behaviour of these aneroids was so anomalous and jjer-
plexing that I felt greatly inclined to read' them no more ; and
it was only the apprehension of disaster to the mercurials that
induced me to continue to occupy my time in recording obser-
vations which appeared perfectly worthless. From subsequent
experiments in the workshop ^ it has been found that their be-
haviour is neither exceptional nor unintelligible ; but when we
were upon Chimborazo it puzzled me exceedingly, and I rushed
to the conclusion that I had not been well served, and that my
aneroids were emphatically a bad lot.

Our camp was situated on the southern side of a rather con-
spicuous gap in the ridge, and a large rectangular mass of lava
against which the tent was placed made a good landmark, which
was rendered still more apparent by one of our long poles that
was fixed up as a signal. Below us, our ridge spread out con-
siderably as it approached the Arenal, and above us it led for a
long distance towards the western dome.

On our right or east, looking towards the summits, there was

1 See How to use the Aneroid Barometer^ p. 35, § 40. 2 See Appendix B.
^ IJow to use the Aneroid Barometer, pp. 15-34.

58 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. hi.

a basin occupied by a glacier (the Glacier de Debris, about which
I shall speak more particularly presently) terminating in a vdllon
leading down to the Arenal. On the farther or eastern side of
this glacier there was another ridge that carried, opposite to our
camp, a rather prominent secondary peak, which we dubbed —
from its situation and from a fancied resemblance to the Mont
Blanc aiguille — the Aiguille du Midi. This, and another smaller
one that we called the Aiguille du G6ant, being higher than our
station, shut out much of the vista to the east. The ridge of
which they formed part did not extend to so great a height as
our own. It became lost amid the snow and scattered rocks
shewn upon the right of the view facing p. 24, and over its higher
extremity, in the early morning, we could occasionally see some of
the tumultuous glacier which covers a great part of the eastern
side of Chimborazo, with its numerous crevasses and gigantic
schrunds. Over these slopes and schrunds clouds gathered cease-
lessly, tantalizing us when they were whirled aloft and torn into
shreds, only to be replaced in a few seconds by equally impene-
trable mists manufactured from invisible vapours.

On the left or west of our ridge there was the Vallon de
Carrel, up which we had come ; and at the head of this there was
glacier E (Glacier de Thielmann) of my map, that has its origin
in the crown of the western dome. The farther or northern side
of this glacier was bounded by a long and serrated ridge which
terminated the view in that direction.

Above the camp, rising 500 feet higher at an angle of about
35°, our ridge was covered with disintegrated lava mingled with
patches of sand ; a stony waste, easy enough to traverse, — Mr.
Perring, indeed, could ascend or descend it by himself. Up to
this elevation (nearly 17,200 feet) Chimborazo could be ascended
in the month of January without touching snow ! The crest or
arete of the ridge then rose for some distance at a less abrupt
angle, and w^as occupied by jagged blocks or pinnacles of lava
which concealed its continuation in the rear. Except by looking

CHAP. III. " THE THING IS CERTAIN:' 59

at the ridge in full front from Guaranda, I did not know what
was behind. The Carrels had disappeared amongst the craggy lavas,
and as I had selected this as the line of ascent, and could not see
a practicable route either to the right or left, I awaited the return
of my assistants with some anxiety. Night had almost set in
before they were descried coming down the slope that rose from
the camp, and it was quite dark when they arrived at the tent,
almost breathless, scarcely able to keep on their legs, staggering
under their own weight ! They threw themselves down and went
to sleep without either eating or drinking, and I did not hear
their report until the next day.

Misled by the time that had been occupied, they believed
they had reached a very great height. [I found subsequently
that they had got to about 19,300 feet above the sea.] ^^ The
thing is certain,'^ said Jean-Antoine joyously, by which he meant
Chimborazo could be ascended. However that might be, their
condition, and the length of time they had been absent, led me
to the conclusion that our present location was not high enough
as a starting-point, and that another move upwards must be
made, though they said that there was no other place at which
we could properly encamp.

On the morning of the 30th Jean-Antoine was crippled by
inflammation of the eyes, and had to submit to be doctored with
a solution of sulphate of zinc, but his cousin was sufficiently re-
vived in the afternoon to be sent with Perring down to the depot
to fetch the tent which was to be advanced to the third camp.
They returned at nightfall, having found it as much as they could
carry, though it weighed only 35 lbs., a load which the athletic
Louis would have thought a trifle at lower elevations (higher press-
ures). The minimum at our camp this night was 20° '5 Faht.

On the 31st, the Carrels and I (each carrying a few small
things) went up the ridge to select a camping-place ; and, finding
that no protection could be obtained at a higher point, decided
to plant ourselves amongst the broken lava, close to the crest

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, iil

of the ridge, on its eastern side, at a height of 17,285 feet (mere,
bar. at 1 p.m. read 16'081 inches). The position was a bad and
exposed one, and it was a troublesome matter to clear space suffi-
cient even for our small tent. That done, we returned to the
second camp, and shortly afterwards our arriero-courier arrived,
convoying three Indians who had been sent by the authorities

THIRD CAMP ON CHIMBORAZO.

at Guaranda, in response to
my application, to replace
the others who had bolted.
After feeding them well, to
give them a little confidence, they
were at once despatched, under
the care of the Carrels, carrying baggage to the third camp.

The arriero (F ) also brought intelligence that the depot

had been broken into and robbed, and I accordingly sent him
back to watch the stores, and Perring to Gruaranda, with a written
request to the Jefo-politico to supply a guard for the baggage
so long as we remained on the mountain. When the Indians

CHAP. III. THE OX-CIIEEK OF CHICAGO. 61

returned at the end of the afternoon particular pains were taken
to keep them in a good humour. They were well fed and petted,
provided with wraps, had shelter rigged up for them, and a good
fire made. Yet I fully expected they would desert us, and was
quite surprised in the morning to find that they were remaining.
The minimum temperature in this night was again 20°. 5 Faht.

It will be inferred from the last paragraphs that we were
now in a somewhat better condition. The more disagreeable
symptoms of our mountain-sickness had disappeared, the gasp-
ings had ceased, and headache had nearly gone. Still, although
improving, we found ourselves comparatively lifeless and feeble,
with a strong disposition to sit down when we ought to have
been moving, and there was plenty at that time to keep us moving
— mainly owing to the unpleasant discovery that some of our
tinned meat had gone bad.

I had invested in a quantity of ox-cheek, and one tin of it
had been placed in each case. Upon opening the very first case
it was noticed that the ends of the ox-cheek tin were convex,
and knowing what this meant, I had it thrown away at once.
With one after another we found the same and acted similarly ;
but at last, upon opening another case, a most appalling stench
rushed out, and we found that the ox-cheek had burst its bonds,
and had not only become putrid itself, but had corroded the other
tins and ruined almost the whole of the food in the case. It
then became necessary to examine each case seriatim, to know
exactly how we were off for food, and the end of the matter was
we found ourselves obliged to hurl over the cliffs a mass of pro-
visions which had cost endless trouble to prepare.^

1 I promised the manufacturer of that horrible stuff an advertisement upon
my return, but 1 am deprived of the pleasure of fulfilling ni}^ promise. I am
advised that it might be considered libellous to publish the name of a person
who has sold putrid meat, and I much regret that it cannot be given the publicity
that he deserves. He caused much loss and severe labour. The whole of the
provision cases had to be opened and his goods ejected. In instances where the
ox- cheek had burst, its stench rendered it necessary to scrape and cleanse all

62 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

On January 1^ 1880, leaving the Carrels to continue this

repulsive work, I went down to inspect the depot, where F

was remaining as watchman, and took the three Indians to col-
lect firewood, as our stock was getting low. The majority of
the boxes were too solid to be broken open, and pilfering I foulid
had been confined to a wine case (from which six bottles were
abstracted) and to a flimsy trunk belonging to Perring. Having
despatched the Indians upwards with their loads of wood, I fol-
lowed them leisurely, searching in the Vallon de Carrel for treas-
ures that had no attractions for the authorities at Guaranda.^
The Indians, saw their opportunity, and upon return to camp
I discovered that they had dropped their loads and brought up
no wood whatever ; and, having stealthily picked up their little
bundles of belongings under the very noses of the Carrels, had
vanished, like the others.

The labour of porterage was again thrown upon Jean-Antoine
and Louis, Avho bore their burdens cheerfully, and started off at
an early hour on Jan. 2 with a couple of loads to the third
camp. About 10 a.m. Perring made his appearance, accompanied
by two persons in uniform, carrying rifles, and a muleteer and
boy with a load of wood. I recognised ^the guard,' but desired

the other packages in the case several times with soap and water, and to rub
them bright with sand, before we could venture to open them. When opened,
we found that the stench had often penetrated the joints of the tins, and rendered
their contents unfit for consumption. The Avorst part of the business, however,
was the prejudice that it caused against the rest of the tinned food, all of which
was found to be unexceptionable, unless it had been defiled by the ox-cheek.
Some of my followers flatly refused to touch any of it.

Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell did 7iot supply the ox-cheek and did supply
some of the rest ; and, as one would expect, their goods were found satisfactory.
Their preserved soups, in particular, were excellent for our purposes.

^ In this vallon I found roches moutonnees several miles lower than the existing
Glacier de Thielmann ; and I obtained in it most of the insects and plants which
are enumerated In Chapters V. and XVIII. At a little less than 15,000 feet
above the sea I found a solitary fern (IWjpodlnni pycnolepis, Kze.). This is the
greatest height at which a representative of this family was obtained on the
journey.

CHAP. III. FLIGHT OF THE GUARD. 63

an introduction to the others, and found that Mr. Perring had

suspected that F was the thief, and had thoughtfully engaged

a fresh arriero as courier, before arresting our late one, who was
now a prisoner and on his way to Guaranda in charge of two
of my guards ; ^ whilst the other pair had taken the earliest oppor-
tunity to wait upon me, not to pay their respects, but to state
that unless they were paid eightpence each per day, lymictuallij
every day, they would take themselves oif. I assured them that
it would give us the greatest pleasure to see one of them every
day, punctually, at the third camp, to receive the four eight-
pences, and appointed Mr. Perring paymaster ; but they took
themselves off, I neither know when nor where, and relieved
us from all trouble on their account, except the settlement of a
bill from the authorities at Guaranda for services which had not
been rendered.

They did not, however, depart from the second camp until
we had shewn them the way to the third one. Their unexpected
visit was too good an opportunity to be lost. I impressed every
one to assist in the move, and at the end of the afternoon we
had got three weeks' provisions at the U2)2ier station. The second
camp was then left to take care of itself, with the tent standing,
and a good supply of food and firing alongside. A line of com-
munication was now fairly established. However bad the weather,
we could always retreat upon the second camp, and from it to
the depot near the first one, scarcely more than two hours from
Tortorillas, where we could communicate with Guaranda ; and
the word was given the same afternoon that Chimborazo was
to be assaulted on the next morning.

At 5.35 a.m.^ on Jan. 3, we left the tent, and, scrambling

^ This was done without my approval or knowledge. There did not seem to
be any evidence against this man ; and, if there had been, we could not have
obtained his conviction without the witnesses which were necessary (according to
Mr. Perring) to satisfy the law of Ecuador.

2 There was seldom light enough for travelling over unfamiliar ground earlier
than 5.30 a.m.

64 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

through the shattered lava behind it, crossed the arete and
emerged on the western side of the ridge. There was then the
view before ns that is given on the opposite page. The western
dome, which had been hidden during part of the ascent, again
became conspicuous ; crowning wall-like cliffs of lava, that grew
more and more imposing as we advanced. As regards the western
summit, there are two series of these cliffs — the upper ones imme-
diately underneath the dome, surmounted by sheer precipices of
ice, and the lower ones at the end of a spur thrown out towards
the south-west. '^I'hese lower cliffs are neither so extensive nor as
perpendicular as the upper ones,^ and they are crowned by snow,
not by glacier. Our ridge led up to their base, and at the junction
there was a want of continuity rather than a distinct breach in
the walls. ^ This was the spot which, when examining the mount-
ain on Dec. 21, at a distance of sixteen miles, we had unani-
mously regarded as the critical j^oint, so far as an ascent was
concerned (see pp. 25, 26).

Up to this place the course was straightforward. In the imme-
diate foreground, and extending upwards for 500 or 600 feet, large
beds of snow^ in good condition covered the ridge. The pinnacle
or aiguille near at hand was upon the arete or crest of it, and
the two others shewn in the engraving upon p. 41 were higher
up on the right hand or eastern side. The ridge itself appears
to be fundamentally an old flow of lava. Rock specimens which
were taken in situ at various elevations, though differing to some
extent in external appearance, are nearly identical in composition,^
and I have no doubt that several, at least, of the other principal

1 The}^ are seen in the view facing p. 24, which is talcen from almost precisely
the same direction as that facing this page, though at a much lower level.

2 Marked Z on the Sketch plan of part of the Southern side of Chimhorazo.

3 " This rock (from the second camp, in situ) is a dullish lavender-grey colour,
with crystals of glassy felspars up to about 4 inch long, and some minute blackish
specks, which weather rather a reddish colour. I think it very probable that a
little sanidine is present among the felspars. The rock is a variety of the hyper-
stheniferous augite-andesites.

CHIMBORAZO, FROM A LITTLE ABOVE THE THIRD CAMP,

PHOTOGRAPHED AT 17 450 FEET.

CHAP. III. THE ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO. 65

ridges of this mountain were originally lava-streams. Their
normal appearance has been largely modified ; much is covered
up by snow, the exposed portions have been greatly decomposed
and eroded, and lie almost buried underneath their own ruins.

After these convenient snow-beds were traversed our ridge
steepened — both as regards its arete, and the angles of the
slopes on each side ; and became in j^art covered by pure ice,
and partly by ice mingled with small stones and grit. When
this conglomerate was hard frozen, it enabled us to ascend with-
out step-cutting ; but the debris often reposed uncemented on
the surface, and rendered caution as well as hard labour neces-
sary. I found here, scattered over about fifty feet, rather
numerous fragments of partly fossilized bones. Sir Richard
Owen, to whom they were submitted, pronounced them to be
" the bones of some ruminant.^' The unhappy ruminant most
likely did not come there voluntarily, and I conjecture that it
was conveyed to this lofty spot, either entire or in part, by a
condor or some other bird of prey, to be devoured at leisure.

At 7.30 a.m. we arrived at the foot of the lower series of
the Southern Walls of Ohimborazo, and the termination of the

"The specimen taken near the third camp, and representing the rock which
prevails throughout the ridge by which the first ascent was made, is a rock macro-
scopically related to the one last described, but is a little redder in colour, more
vesicular in structure, and with slightly larger crystals of felspar (up to about
ith inch diameter). So far as the base and its included microliths are concerned,
there is little to add to the preceding description, except that a dusty ferrite is rather
abundant, as the colour of the rock would lead us to expect, the larger crystals of
felspar do not materially differ from those already described, hypersthene is abundant,
undoubted augite being rare, and there are two or three small crystals of a strongly
dichroic hornblende. Also one or two crystals of what appears to be an iron mica.
The predominance of hypersthene entitles this to the name of a hypersthene-ande-
site."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., Proc. Roijal Soc, No. 232, June 19, 1884.

The whole of the rocks collected upon this journey were submitted to Professor
Bonney, by whom they -were described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in
a series of five papers (Jan. 31-Nov. 27, 1884). Prof. Bonney has also favoured
me with the summary which will be found at pp. 140-143 of the Supplementary
Appendix to this volume.

66 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

south-west ridge. Then the axes went to work, and the cliffs
resounded with the strokes of the two powerful cousins, who
lost no time in exploration, as they had already passed this
place on Dec. 29. The breach in the walls (for so it must be
termed from want of a better expression) rose at an angle
exceeding 50°, and here, for the same reason as upon the arete
we had quitted, snow could not accumulate to any depth, and
the major part of the daily fall slid away in streams, or tiny
avalanches, down to the less abrupt slopes beneath ; while the
residue, dissolved and refrozen, glazed the projecting rocks, and
filled their interstices with solid ice. Thus far and no farther a
man may go who is not a mountaineer. To our party it caused
only a temporary check, for the work was enchanting to the
Carrels after the uncongenial labour in which they had been
emjDloyed, and during a short time we made good progress —
then, all at once, we were brought to a halt. Wind had been
rising during the last half-hour, and now commenced to blow
furiously. It was certain we could not reach the summit on that
day ; so, getting down as quickly as possible, and depositing the
instruments and baggage in crannies in the cliffs after reading
the barometer,^ we fled for refuge to the tent, holding ourselves,
however, in readiness to start again on the next morning.

Under the small further diminution in pressure which was

^ At 8 a.m. on Jan. 3, the air temperature in the shade was 22° "5 Faht., and at
the same time the mercurial barometer (corrected for temperature) read 15 "276 inches.

I ascended a^ain to this place on Jan. 6 to obtain an observation at 11 a.m.
On this occasion the air temperature in the shade was 49° '5 Faht., and the mercurial
barometer (reduced to 32°) read 15*298 inches. There was a simultaneous observa-
tion by Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil. The height adopted (18,528 feet) is the mean
of the altitudes deduced from the observations made upon tliese two days.

The difference of level between the third camp and the foot of the lower series
of the Southern Walls of Chimborazo amounts to 1243 feet. We occupied 115
minutes in ascending and 30 minutes in descending that amount. The descent
was effected at the rate of 41 feet per minute, arid we could not have gone much
faster. This rate may be compared with those mentioned upon pp. 31, 32, which
it is stated were maintained over courses three or four times as long.

CHAP. III. PASSAGE OF " THE BREACH." 67

experienced this day (seven-tenths of an inch), no very marked
effects ensued. The most noticeable points were the lassitude with
which we were pervaded, and the readiness with which we sat down.
Atmospheric pressure varied little at the third camp. At 6 p.m.,
on Jan. 2, the mercurial barometer (red. to 32°) read 15 '992 inches,
and at 5 a.m., on Jan. 3, 15*974 inches ; but the aneroids con-
tinued to lose upon the mercurial, and their mean error on Jan.
4-5 had risen to — 0'974 of an inch, from — 0'903 in. when they
were last compared at the second camp (see p. 56). Two were
already nearly out of range ; another couple were out of order ; and
two others alone remained serviceable for yet lower pressures.

We again started from the third camp on Jan. 4, at 5.40 a. hi.
The morning was fine and nearly cloudless, and profiting by the
track made on the previous day we proceeded at first at a fair
rate and finished the escalade of " the breach " at about eight
o^clock. Then bearing away to the left,^ at first over snow and
then over snow-covered glacier, we mounted in zigzags, to ease
the ascent. The great schrunds at the head of the Glacier de
Thielmann were easily avoided ; the smaller crevasses Avere not
troublesome ; and the snow was in good order, though requiring
steps to be cut in it. Jean-Antoine Carrel led, and my orders to
him at starting were that we were to go slowly — the rest was
left to his discretion. I noticed, at this stage, that his paces
got shorter and shorter, until at last the toe of one step almost
touched the heel of the previous one. At about 10 a.m., at a
height of 19,400 feet, Ave passed the highest exposed rocks, Avhich
Avere scoriaceous lava, apparently in consolidated beds,^ and for

1 Our track at this part of the ascent is shewn in dotted line upon the view
facing p. 24.

2 Exposed in patches, about twelve feet long, projecting a few feet above the
snow. The Carrels got nearly as far as these rocks upon December 29.

"A slightly scoriaceous lava, rough to the touch, almost purple-black in colour,
with numerous very minute specks of a glassy felspar. Except that the base is
rendered rather more opaque by disseminated opacite, it does not differ materially
from several already described. There are the usual crystals of felspar, one or two

68 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

some distance farther we continued to progress at a reasonable
rate, having fine weather and a good deal of sunshine.

At about 11 a.m. we fancied we saw the Pacific, above the
clouds which covered the whole of the intervening flat country ;
and shortly afterwards commenced to enter the plateau which is
at the top of the mountain, having by this time made half the
circuit of the western dome. We were then twenty thousand feet
high, and the summits seemed within our grasp. We could see
both, — one towards our right, and the other a little farther away
on our left, with a hollow plateau about a third of a mile across
between them. We reckoned that in another hour we could get
to the top of either ; and, not knowing which of the two was the
higher, we made for the nearer. But at this point the condition
of affairs completely changed. The sky became overclouded, the
wind rose, and we entered upon a tract of exceedingly soft snow,
which could not be traversed in the ordinary way. The leading
man went in up to his neck, almost out of sight, and had to be
hauled out by those behind. Imagining that we had got into a
labyrinth of crevasses, we beat about right and left to try to
extricate ourselves ; and, after discovering that it was everywhere
alike, we found the only possible way of proceeding was to flog
every yard of it down, and then to crawl over it on all fours ; and,
even then, one or another was frequently submerged, and almost
disappeared.^

Needless to say, time flew rapidly. When we had been at this
sort of work for three hours, without having accomplished half the
remaining distance, I halted the men, pointed out the gravity of
our situation, and asked them which they preferred, to turn or to
go on. They talked together in patois, and then Jean-Antoine

being much rounded and very full of dull glassy enclosures ; there is a fair amount
of augite, but no well-characterised hypersthene ; so that the rock may be named
an augite-andesite."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Proc. Royal Soc, June 19, 1884.

1 Louis Carrel could not touch bottom with a twelve-foot pole that he was
carrying. It would have continued to descend by its own weight if he had left
hold of it.

CHAP. III.

ON THE SUMMIT OF CHIMBORAZO.

said, '' AVheii you tell iis to turn we will go back ; until then we
will go on/" I said, '• Go on/' although by no means feeling sure
it would not be best to say '^' Go back." In another hour and a
half we got to the foot of the western summit, and, as the slopes
steepened, the snow became firmer again. We arrived on the top
of it about a quarter to four in the afternoon, and then had the
mortification of finding that it was the lower of the two. There
was no help for it ; we had to descend to the plateau, to resume
the flogging, wading, and floundering, and to make for the highest
point, and there again, when we got on to the dome, the snow was
reasonably firm, and we arrived upon the summit of Chimborazo
standing upright like men, instead of grovelling, as we had been
doing for the previous five hours, like beasts of the field.

The wind blew hard from the north-east, and drove the
light snow before it viciously. We were hungry, wet, numbed,
and wretched, laden with instruments which could not be used.
With much trouble the mercurial barometer was set up ; one
man grasped the tripod to keep it firm, while the other stood to
windward holding up a poncho to give a little protection. The

" LOWER IT WOULD NOT GO.

70 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

mercury fell to 14*100 inches/ with a temperature of 21° Faht.,
and lower it would not go. The two aneroids (D and E) i^ecid
13*050 and 12*900 incites respectively. By the time the barometer
was in its case again^ it was twenty minutes past five. Planting
our pole with its flag of serge on the very apex of the dome, we
turned to depart, enveloped in driving clouds which entirely con-
cealed the surrounding country.

Scarcely an hour and a quarter of daylight remained, and we
fled across the plateau. There is much difference between ascend-
ing and descending soft snow, and in the trough or groove which
had already been made we moved down with comparative facility.
Still it took nearly an hour to extricate ourselves, and we then
ran, — ran for our lives, for our arrival at camp that night de-
pended upon passing ''the breach ^^ before darkness set in. We
just gained it as daylight was vanishing, and night fell before it
was left behind ; a night so dark that we could neither see our
feet nor tell, except by touch, whether we were on rock or snow.
Then we caught sight of the camp fire, twelve hundred feet below,
and heard the shouts of the disconsolate Perring, who was left
behind as camp-keeper, and stumbled blindly down the ridge,
gettiiig to the tent soon after 9 p.m., having been out nearly
sixteen hours, and on foot the whole time.

The reduction in pressure we experienced upon Jan. 4
amounted to nearly two inches (16*000 to 14*100 inches), — a
considerably larger diminution than had occurred while mount-
ing from the first to the second camp on Dec. 27 (17*900 to
16*500 inches). Yet on the former day we were entirely free
from the afflictions of the latter one. There was neither
feverishness, headache, gasping, nor the nausea, vomitings, and
hemorrhages of which others have spoken. The only effect of
which I was conscious, or could trace in my companions, was
lassitude or want of vivacity. Our rate on this day was
^ This is the original reading, uncorrected for temperature.

CHAP. II r. THE HEIGHT OF CHIMBORAZO. 71

deplorable. Nearly sixteen hours were occupied in ascending
and descending 3200 feet. There was a marked diminution in
pace the higher we ascended, and although this, to some extent,
was owing to the nature of the snow (the softness of which
according to the Carrels was unprecedented in their experience) it
seemed probable that it was not entirely due to it ; and I proposed
to test this on another occasion by sweeping round and avoiding
the hollow part of the plateau, where the soft snow alone occurred.

The eyes of my mountaineers were inflamed.^ Louis did not
shew to advantage on this day, and I thought it noteworthy
that he, the youngest, biggest, and not the least powerful of the
three, manifested more signs of fatigue than men who were
fourteen and twenty-six years older. Whilst descending, he
took the lead, and walked irregularly — sometimes blundering
or staggering forwards, and then suddenly checking his pace
abruptly. Jean-Antoine, on the contrary, walked well, and
descended with a steady, uniform stride (though encumbered
with his twelve-pound baby), in admirable style for a man of
fifty-two. There was little difference in our condition on the
morning of the 5th. Louis mentioned that his toes were frost-
bitten,^ and so were the tips of my own fingers, through turning
the milled heads of the cistern and vernier screws of the
barometer with ungloved hands.

The reading of the mercurial barometer upon the summit
was half an inch higher than I expected ; and, from the rough
computation which I made on the spot, upon the assumption
that the simultaneous height of the barometer at Guayaquil was
a little below 30 inches and that the temperature of the air
there was 75° Faht., the height of Chimborazo came out 20,608

1 On the 4th of Jan. 1 used a knitted woollen head-piece (with a linen mask
as well during part of the time), and wore neutral-tint spectacles throughout
the day. The Carrels incautiously uncovered their eyes occasionally, and suffered
accordingly.

^ He was indebted to this through going without gaiters. The snow on the
summit was wet as well as soft, and he got his feet wet.

72 TRAVELS AMONGST THE ORE AT ANDES, chap. hi.

feet/ or 817 feet loioer than the determination of Ilnmboldt.
Although I had no doubt of the accuracy of my readings/ I
thought it was desirable to repeat them, if possible at 11 a.m.,
for the sake of combination with Mr. Chambers' observations at
that hour.

Two aneroids (D and E) were taken to the summit, and when
read against the mercurial they shewed a considerable increase
in their errors upon those which were observed at the third
camp —

Error of D at last comparison at the third camp was — 0-724 inch.
Do. E do. do. -0.774 ,,

Do. D upon the summit of Chimborazo . . — 1-060 ,,

Do. E do. do . . - 1-210 „

The actual readings on the summit of these two aneroids were
(D) 13-050 inches, and (E) 12-900 inches.' The mean of the
readings (12-975 inches), thus, was no less than 1*135 inches
lo2uer than the reading of the mercurial barometer (corrected
for temperature) ; and if the altitude of Chimborazo had been
deduced from this mean, in combination with Mr. Chambers'
observations at Guayaquil, the height of the mountain would
have come out more than a thousand feet greater than the
determination of Humboldt !

I considered that it was desirable to ascend Chimborazo
again, to see whether we could improve our route, to learn
whether our deplorable rate at the upper part was due to the
softness of the snow or was to be attributed to diminution in
atmospheric pressure ; and to remain a longer time on the summit
to repeat the observations of the barometer, and to obtain a

1 Upon being re-computed by Mr. Ellis (after the Guayaquil observations were
known), this was reduced to 20,545 feet.

2 The mercurial barometer was set up directly we reached the summit, but the
reading was not entered until it was found that the mercury of the instrument
had taken up the temperature of the air.

3 These aneroids were graduated to 13 inches.

CHAP. III. 'THE VOLCANO SANGAL 73

round of angles, — for it was obvious that this commanding posi-
tion covered an immense range. It was consequently understood
that another ascent was to be made, as soon as the conditions
became favourable.

The weather on Jan. 5 was cold and windy, and much sleet
fell. The arriero-courier came up with a sheep/ and went down
to '^the authorities" with a cordial invitation to pay us a visit,
as I wished to see how far they were fitted to occupy higher
positions than their comparatively obscure ones at (xuaranda.
Jean-Antoine and Perring descended to the second camp for
firewood, and Louis remained nearly all day in the tent, engaged
in household affairs.

The view from our eyrie Avas more extensive towards the
east and south than that seen from the second camp. Over the
ridge on the opposite side of the Glacier de Debris we obtained
an occasional glimpse of Sangai, an active volcano which seems
to be known only by name.' In Ecuador it is reputed to be
formidable, and when we were established at Guaranda we
frequently heard noises which were attributed to it by the
natives.^ It appeared to be distant from us about forty miles,
and its rather symmetrical cone rose Avell above the intervening
ranges. There were large snow-beds near its summit, but the
apex of the cone was black, and was doubtless covered with fine
volcanic ash. The saying is current that eruptions of Sangai
are to be apprehended when (-otopaxi becomes tranquil, and the

^ The animal was driven up to the second camp.

^ I am not acquainted with any information about it in print, except the brief
references to it l)y Mr. Spruce in the Journal of tlie Royal Geographical Society for
1861, nor aware that the base of its cone has been reached. Messrs. Reiss and
Stiibel in their Alturas give 17,464 feet as its height.

^ On Dec. 20-21 the noises resembled reports of volleys of musketry at the
distance of half a mile or so. On these and upon other days the sounds were heard
only between 7 and 9 a.m. They were not accompanied by any vibration, and the
natives paid no regard to them. The name of this mountain has not been intro-
duced upon the large map, as I was unable to fix its position.

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

opinion seemed to prevail that the two mountains act as safety-
valves to eacli other.

Upon the few occasions that we saw it (though scarcely any
smoke issued from the crater), there were outrushes of steam
at intervals of twenty to thirty minutes^ which shot up with

.'--^ .K,

'"^lih

^J&JS&^^

immense rapidity five or six thousand feet above the top of the
mountain. They then spread out into mushroom-like clouds,
which were drifted by the wind towards the south. The annexed
diagram shews three phases (A, B, C) of these eruptions. In A.
the nearly invisible jet is being projected. In B, the eruption has

1 Similar ejections of steam, on a smaller scale, were also observed upon Cotopaxi.
See Chapter VII.

CHAP. in. SANGAI IN ERUPTION. 75

ceased^ and the steam-cloud lias formed ; and, in C, this cloud is
being carried to leeward, and is melting away. Sometimes these
clouds drifted ten or twelve miles before they were dissipated,
and as a rule they had quite disappeared before a fresh outburst
created a new one.

Three points of interest in connection with these outbursts of
steam may be mentioned. 1. The rapidity of the ejection. This
can be estimated with some probability, as our position was nearly
on a level with the summit of Sangai, and was favourably situated
for observation. The part of the cone within sight was about
4000 feet high ; the jets rose to about once and a half this height,
in less than three seconds, and they were consequently projected in
the air at the rate of about twenty-tico miles pe7^ minute. 2. The
cloud formed by the steam took the shape of ordinary cumulus,
rudely flat below, and piled up above. This was repeated time
after time. 3. The drift of these clouds southwards demonstrated
the existence of a current of air, 22-23,000 feet above the sea,
directed from north to south. From our small number of observa-
tions, it would be rash to conclude that this current is a permanent
one, although from subsequent experiences it would appear that
it exists during a considerable portion of the year.

The 6th of January commenced with fine weather, and I
went again with the Carrels to the foot of the Southern Walls.
This time we ascended the 1243 feet in 88 minutes. The lower
cliffs (marked D on the sketch plan of Chimborazo) are not so lofty,
or as perpendicular as the upper series, and (if provided with ice-
axes) one can traverse the slopes underneath them without much
trouble, though they are steep and have many streaks or sheets of
ice caused by the refreezing of the water which trickles off the
rocks. There is evidence that a certain amount of liquefaction
goes on even at the top of Chimborazo (notwithstanding the low
mean temperature that prevails there) in the enormous icicles
which depend from the lower surfaces of the coronal glacier.
Some were fully one hundred and fifty feet long.

76 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. in.

I found at this place, on rocks in situ at the base of the cliffs,
patches of the lichen Lecanora suhftisca, L., spread over a consider-
able area. This was the highest point at which any lichen was
obtained upon Chimborazo, or during our journey amongst the
Great Andes of the Equator ; and, so far as I can learn, it (18,500
feet) is the greatest elevation at> which anything appertaining to
the vegetable kingdom has been found in either of the Americas.^
Another lichen of the genus Gyropliora was in quantities in the
vicinity of the third camp (17,200-17,300 feet).

Standing at the foot of the Southern Walls, ^ I was more puzzle^l
than before to understand how my predecessors could have at-
tained the elevations of 19,286 and 19,698 feet. According to my
rough computation, the height of this place was about 18,400 feet
above the level of the sea.^ This, it seems to me, was the spot at
which Humboldt and Boussingault stopped. The latter traveller,
in the account reprinted in Appendix H, says that his (second)
attempt was made by way of the Arenal. This limits his route to
the three vallons which have been already mentioned. He states
that he got his mules to a height of 4935 metres (16,224 feet), and
this indicates that he followed the same vallon as ourselves, for he
could not have got them nearly so high either in the Vallon de
Debris or in that of Tortorillas. He then speaks of following an
arete, and his account agrees with the arete of the south-west
ridge ; and if his narrative is to be taken in a literal sense he must

^ There are in the Botanical Department of the British Museum some specimens
of a moss of the genus Orthotric7ium, collected by the Col. Hall Avho accompanied
Boussingault upon his attempts to ascend Chimborazo, which are said to have come
from a height of 18,800 feet, and to be the last trace of vegetation. I obtained
species of this genus upon the summit of Corazon (15,871), but did not meet with it
upon Chimborazo, or see mosses growing anywhere upon that mountain higher than
16,700 feet.

It follows from what is said about the elevation attained by Col. Hall and
Boussingault that I cannot suppose these specimens actually came from so great
a height.

^ A detailed sketch of a portion of them accompanies Chapter XIX.

^ In recomputation, this has been increased to 18,528 feet.

ICE-CLIFFS UNCER THE SUMMITS OF CHIMBORAZO.

PHOTOGRAPHED AT 18,500 FEET.
THIS, IT SEEMS TO ME, WAS THE SPOT AT WHICH HUMBOLDT AND BOUSSINGAULT STOPPED.

CHAP. III. PUZZLED. 77

have stopped at the foot of the Southern Walls, at or about the
place marked F upon the illustration in Chapter XIX., and by
a little cross on the plate facing p. 24, for his description agrees
with that place and cannot apply to any other. ^ I am unable to
explain how he found that this place was elevated 19,698 feet
above the sea ; still less do I understand, if he stood at this
spot, having the Glacier de Debris on his right, and the Glacier
de Thielmann on his left, and magnificent sections of glacier
crowning the Upper Walls, immediately above him, how it was
he declared that he had seen no glaciers upon Chimborazo I

There is less certainty that Humboldt arrived at this spot. It
is impossible to determine from his own narrative where he actu-
ally went. Boussingault says he knew that Humboldt made his
attempt upon the side of the Arenal ; and, inasmuch as the route
we followed is the only way by which the elevation of 18,500 feet
can be reached with reasonable facility on that side, it seems not
impossible that he also got as far as the foot of the Southern
Walls ; ^ and, if he arrived there, this also would be the place at
which his progress would be arrested. Go farther he could not, for
the four hundred and fifty feet ^ of broken rock and intermingled ice
in the breach form an insurmountable barrier to the uninitiated.

The view from this position is one of the most striking upon
the mountain. It commands the ridge up which we made our
way, and embraces the whole length of the Glacier de Debris, the

1 '* Nous nous trouvions au pied d'un prisme de trachyte dont la base superieure,
recouverte d'une coupole de neige, forme le sommet du Chimborazo. . . . De toutes
parts nous etions environnes de precipices. ... La couleur foncee de la roche cou-
trastait de la maniere la plus tranchee avee la blancheur ^blouissante de la neige.
De longues stalagmites de glace paraissaient suspendues sur nos tetes."

2 There are, however, several reasons why this is dubious. In AspecU of Nature^
vol. 2, p. 34, he states that his highest point was "on the eastern declivity of the
Chimborazo." By no stretch of the imagination can "the side of the Arenal" be
made the eastern side of the mountain. In Karl Bruhns' Life it is said that
progress was stopped by " a ravine, some 400 feet deep, and 60 feet wide," and there
is no such ravine or cleft upon the south-west ridge.

8 We measured the breach with a line on Jan. 6.

78 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

vallon below^ and in the far distance a little peep of the Arena!
road, where by the aid of glasses the passing mule- trains bound
from the capital to the coast could be discerned, and condors
sailing to and fro watching unguarded flocks and herds.

The inferior portion of the Glacier de Debris lies below the
line of perpetual snow, blackened and obscured with fragments of
lavas of every hue and shape, broken from places inaccessible to
the hammer ; but its upper half, sprinkled by the daily falls, grows
purer as it rises, and terminates in a steeply-sloping basin, closed
by the cirque of cliffs of the Southern AY alls, crowned by a vertical
section of ice (E) which shews the thickness of the glacier at the
summit of Chimborazo.

Whilst waiting at the point marked A on the Plan, ready to
snatch a view of the opposite walls should an opening occur iii
the mists, a portion of the projecting ice-clifls near the summit
broke away, and some thousands of tons dropped hundreds of
feet without touching anything, falling into the amphitheatre
with a noise which fairly made us quiver ; and then, shattered
into millions of fragments, danced down the converging slopes
to the upper basin, and marched onwards, covering the entire
glacier ; continuing to roll, grind against, and even to clamber
over each other, until nearly opposite the second camp, — driving
a cloud of icy spray nearly a mile farther. In this way the
Glacier de Debris is fed and maintained.

Shortly afterwards, following its usual custom, the weather
deteriorated. High wind and a severe thunderstorm made us
scamper to the tent for shelter, leaving the instruments, as
before, stowed away in fissures in the cliff's. Next morning, my
Chief of the Staff enquired what we were going to do, and
whether the instruments should be brought down. I said, " No,
we have not finished our work.^' He then attempted to dissuade
me from another ascent, arguing that the weather was bad, and
that it would be useless, and so forth. It came out gradually
that he himself positively refused to go up again, or even to

CHAP. III. THE RETREAT. 79

stop where we were. I reminded him of the labour which had
been incurred in establishing our camps, and pointed out the
severe loss that would occur if they Avere broken up. He
assented to all that I said, and simply took up the ^^osition
that lie would not ascend Ohimborazo again. Louis did not join
in the discussion, — the older man spoke for both. Upon asking
for a reason, he said that he considered the length of time we
were at so great a height was injurious to his health ; that he
had pains all over his body, and was afflicted with dysentery.
After spending much time in argument, and finding that he
could not be brought into a different frame of mind, I despatched
Perring to Guaranda to bring up mules for the retreat. '

To tell the truth, I did not think much of the ailments he
mentioned, for he appeared to be in very good 2)reservation ;
and I concluded that he was tired of the monotony of his life,
and unfavourably contrasted the tameness of our proceedings
with the dashing exploits to Avhich he had been accustomed.
From this point of view a good deal might have been said. The
cousins had been employed on Ohimborazo more as beasts of
burden than as mountaineers, in weather which for continuous
badness was the worst we had* known, in occupations that
brought them no compensation for the hardships they endured ;
and I did not feel inclined to judge them too harshly, though
intensely chagrined at their sudden collapse, and at being com-
pelled to descend when our work was not half finished.

During the time Mr. Perring was absent, all the baggage
was concentrated below ; and on the 10th, when the team
arrived, it was speedily loaded, and despatched to the tambo of
Chuquipoquio, on the east side of Ohimborazo. Perring neces-
sarily accompanied the caravan as interpreter, and I remained
alone at the second camp ; for I refused to leave until some
of my projects were accomplished, amongst these the most

* This day (Jan. 7) we went up to recover the instruments, and got to the
foot of the Southern Walls in eighty-five minutes.

80 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. hi.

important being the observation of angles for the construction of
a plan of our surroundings. Before they left, a base line, 600
feet long, was measured from near the second camp to the
position marked STATION 3 on the sketch plan of part of the
southern side of Ohimborazo, and poles were erected as signals
on the centre of the Glacier de Debris and at other places.
But the mists that had prevailed prevented angles being ob-
served at these positions, and until they were obtained I
proposed to stop. Perring was directed to return on the after-
noon of the 11th with a sufficient number of beasts for the
transport of the remaining baggage, and then the little proces-
sion passed out of sight, with Jean-Antoine as rear-guard,
lingering as if after all reluctant to go, turning to wave an
adieu, calling out, " Take care of yourself. Monsieur, take care ! "
In this singular position I remained two days longer. At
4 p.m. on the 12th I turned my back on the second camp,
and, going gently on foot, arrived at 10.45 at the tambo of
Chuquipoquio. The great gate of the massive portal was opened
somewhat tardily, for all were asleep and the place was in dark-
ness, and I went to bed about 1 a.m., not in the least knowing
what the next move would be.

THE HEAD OF THE EXPEDITION.

A RAGAMUFFIN AT CHUQUIPOQUIO.

CHAPTER IV.

FROM CHUQUIPOQUIO TO AMBATO, LATACUN^GA AND MACHACHI.

Early on the next morning, the mystery was solved. Louis
was found to be a cripple, quite unable to walk, through his
feet having been severely frost-bitten. They were frightfully
swollen, blistered and discoloured. Jean-Antoine, however, was
restored ; his dysentery having yielded to frequent internal appli-
cations of hot wine and cognac.

It appeared that they were somewhat shamefaced about these
frost-bitten feet, and when they found that serious mischief had
been done they were half afraid to confess it, expecting that a
storm would be raised by this result of their negligence.^ It

^ Louis Carrel did not wear gaiters on Jan. 4, and as his shoes were of the
ill-fitting kind usually worn by Alpine peasants, snow worked down into them,
and his feet got wet. Both men were in fault. It was a part of their contract
that they were to bring gaiters, and it was the business of Jean-Antoine to see
that everything requisite was provided.

82 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

was not a time for scolding. I saw now why Louis had blundered
and floundered about during the descent. The poor man was in
a very bad way, and the first thing was to find some one who
understood the proper treatment for him, as his case was beyond
our abilities.

It so happened that shortly after my arrival the proprietor
of Chuquipoquio came up from Riobamba, and from him we
learned that there was at the town of Ambato, about twenty-
two miles away, a medical man who had a good reputation ;
and on the 14th Perring was despatched to that place to pro-
cure lodgings and to bring back the means of transporting the
cripples — for there were two of us. I was also in need of a
doctor through having acquired in Ecuador a complaint which
rendered riding impossible, and obliged me to walk with cir-
cumspection.

Senor Chiriboga, the proprietor of the tambo, was the son of
a gentleman of Riobamba, who was said to be the representative
of one of the oldest families in Ecuador, and would have been,
if titles had not been abolished. Marquis de Chimborazo. The
possible Marquis was a man of middle age, with an intelligent
head, and he came up ''to do us honour, to supply our needs, to
watch over and care for us^' — so he said. He fell on my neck
and kissed me, and begged that I would write an account of
our ascent, ''to enrich the Archives of Riobamba."" I took this
request seriously, but he became invisible until just before we
left his house, and I forgot his existence except when my eye
lighted upon the neglected document, which was to have enriched
the archives of his native town.

Chuquipoquio is situated towards the eastern end of Chim-
borazo. There is no village. The establishment is partly tambo
and partly farm, and like most of the Haciendas in the interior
of Ecuador is surrounded by high walls, and has a half -fortified
appearance. The courtyard in front was entered through a massive
portal, with strong gates, which were generally kept locked and

CHAP. IV. SHORT COMMONS. 83

bolted, and the buildings on the opposite side were of one story,
in the hut style of architecture. Two or three ragamuffins were
attached to the place, which was managed by a very dirty Indian,
styled the major-domo, who was assisted by an equally dirty wife.

This was the only house of entertainment between Ambato
and Guaranda (for the miserable tambos at Tortorillas and Mocha
count for nothing), and it had things all its own way. A bottle
of Bass cost four shillings, and other articles were in proportion.
But our greatest grievance was that we could scarcely get any-
thing at any price. Though there were cows, milk was doled out
by spoonfuls; there were fowls that ^^ belonged to some one else ^'
and never laid eggs ; there was famine as regards bread, and
meat was not to be thought of. So we had to fall back upon
our reserved stock to save ourselves from starvation.

Examination of the stock shewed that we had eaten less
than usual while upon Chimborazo ; though, owing to the com-
plications introduced by the putrid ox-cheek, one could not tell
to what extent. Upon speaking of this as an unexpected cir-
cumstance to Jean-Antoine, he surprised me by saying that
they (that is to say, Alpine peasants generally) noticed the same
thing when they were upon mountain expeditions in the Alps.
I should have thought the reverse was the case, and that the
appetites of guides left nothing to be desired, except a wish that
they might be diminished.^

In the mornings, when every one cleared out of the tambo,
some going north and others south, the courtyard' which had
resounded with the pawing of restless beasts became as still as
death, and I turned to my journals. I found that my residence
upon Chimborazo had extended over seventeen days. One night
was passed at 14,375 feet, ten more at 16,664 feet, and six others
at 17,285 feet above the sea, and this is perhaps the greatest
length of time that any one has remained continuously at such

' It should, however, be noted that we do not know how much the Alpine
peasant consumes when he is at home.

84 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. iy.

elevations/ In these days, besides ascending to the summit, I
went three times as high as 18,528 feet. Or, the case may be
stated in the following way. In the period intervening between
4.45 p.m. on Dec. 27 and 4 p.m. on Jan. 12 I did not ex-
perience a higher pressure than 16*500 inches, except during
the few hours on Jan. 1 when I descended to inspect the depot.
For six consecutive days, namely, from 4 p.m. on Jan. 2 to the
same hour on Jan. 8, pressure was never higher than sixteen
inches ; and in these six days, on three occasions, the barometer
was observed to be standing below 15*300 inches, and on one
other day to be as low as 14*100 inches.'

In these seventeen days we had experienced the reality of
mountain-sickness, and found that we were not exempt from it
at a pressure of sixteen and a half inches ; that in course of time
the more acute symptoms disappeared, as we became habituated
to that pressure, and that we were able to sustain a slight further
diminution without their recurrence. There was no certainty

^ The nearest parallel of which I am aware is to be found in the experiences
of some of the officers of Sir Douglas Forsyth's Mission to Yarkund. See the
Geographical Report of Capt. (now Col.) H. Trotter, R.E., in Report of a Mis.sioii
to Yarkund in 1873, under command of iSir T. D. Forsyth, K.C.S.I., C.B. ; 4to,
Calcutta, 1875.

2 During the whole of this time, there was not one really fine day. As a
rule, the weather at daybreak on Chimborazo was reasonably good at our level,
and the two summits were cloudless, or nearly so. Clouds at that time, however,
always existed beneath us, commencing at about 13-14,000 feet, and extending
how low I cannot say. Hill-tops of greater elevation than this'" were commonly
clear. By 8 a.m., or thereabouts, clouds commenced to form over the eastern side
of the mountain ; and, gradually extending upwards, generally shut out the sum-
mits by 10 a.m. There were thunderstorms on the south side of Chimborazo on
every day from Dec. 28 to Jan. 12 inclusive, and some were extremely violent.
These seldom occurred before mid-day. Snow fell around us every day, on an
average, to the extent perhaps of three inches per day. The snow was commonly
wet, and in small flakes. Dry, powdery snow did not occur. Hail fell, but not in
great quantities or in pellets of large size. The extreme temperatures noted at
the camps were 72°"5 Faht. at 11 a.m., in the tent at the second camp on Jan. 9,
and 17° Faht., the minimum of the night of Jan. 5, at the third camp.

CHAP. IV. THE TA3IB0 OF CIIUQUIPOQUIO. 85

that they would not reappear if we remained continuously at
yet lower pressures, and I had proposed to test this by stopping
on the summit for some length of time. The unfortunate
denouement which had just occurred necessitated an entire re-
casting of my plans, and whilst groaning inwardly under their
enforced abandonment a scheme came into my head from the
execution of which it seemed possible to derive some consolation.

--#

'"'^ i ^^- ^*^^^^^^^^?'^^^'^ ' -- "'^■^^^<"-^-. '■

.:"'- --'■■'■ ^^m;A,

?3«?^^^Sr

BACK OF THE TAMBO OF CHUQUIPOQUIO.

This idea it was discreet to keep secret until the right time
arrived for divulging it, and I proposed to exercise the samg
reticence now.

The tambo of Ohuquipoquio is built upon the lower, eastern
slopes of Chimborazo, which extend almost uninterruptedly down
to .Kiobamba. This town is on flat ground, at the bottom of
a huge basin. Carihuairazo, Chimborazo and its continuations
bound it upon the west ; and on the south it is enclosed by a
transverse range (upon which the village of Kanti is situated),
that stretches across, and in a manner may be said to connect
the Range of Chimborazo with that which culminates on the
eastern side of the basin in the mountain Altar. The drainage of
this basin, which from crest to crest is about thirty miles across,
is collected into one stream of insignificant dimensions — the River
Chambo — near the Bridge of Penipe, and, after sweeping round
the base of Tunguragua, falls into the River Pastassa.

86 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

Ecuador in this latitude, commencing from the west, has
first lowlands extending from the coast as far inland as the
villages of Catarama and Ventanas ; then comes the Pacific
Range, rising 14,000 feet and upwards in elevation ; ^ next the
basin occupied by numerous small valleys that converge towards
the head of the River Chimbo (9-10,000), succeeded by the
Range of Chimborazo ; and this is followed by the basin of
Riobamba, bounded on its opposite side by the Range of Altar,
which sends out spurs many miles yet farther towards the east.'^

The Range of Chimborazo includes Chimborazo itself, Cari-
huairazo on its north-east (extending almost as far as the
town of Ambato), and a great block of mountains on its south'
which nearly fills the blank space on the Route Map that is
embraced between the River Chimbo and my track from Rio-
bamba past Guamote to Chimbo. The mountain proper, even
without these continuations, covers an amount of ground equal
to or greater than some of the principal ranges of the Alps.
From the pass of Abraspungo to the Great Arenal it measures
nearly ten miles, all the intervening space being higher than
14,000 feet above the sea ; while from south-east to north-west,
reckoning only the part which is above 9000 feet, it is nearly
thirty miles across.

Chimborazo as seen from Chuquipoquio has no resemblance
to a cone. Its summit appears to be formed of a ridge,* the
upper part of which is everywhere buried beneath snow-covered
glacier. Below this, along a large part of its southern side, there

1 From the second camp on Chimborazo (16,664 feet) the highest visible point
of the Pacific Range was depressed only 2° 20'.

2 Part of this information was obtained on a later visit to this district.

3 The highest of these mountains closely approach but do not enter the line
of perpetual snow.

4 This deceptive appearance is the result of foreshortening. Chuquipoquio is
too close to the summit to let its proportions be seen properly. The mountain is
viewed to much greater advantage from Riobamba. The second {i.e. the western)
summit of Chimborazo cannot be seen from Chuquipoquio, and the highest point
is concealed at Tortorillas.

CHAP. IV. THE LITTER. 87

are many precipitous cliffs, that sometimes completely sever the
glaciers on the apparent summit ridge from the secondary ones
below. The glacier J of my map (Glacier de Chuquipoquio) is
an example. This and the Glacier de Moreno are conspicuous
at the tambo, and several others which are laid down upon the
maj) are also more or less seen from it. Between their inferior
extremities and Chuquipoquio there are several transverse ridges,
which are hilly rather than mountainous in character ; ^ and on
the eastern side of the tambo the slopes become still more
gentle, and finally die out a little distance short of Riobamba.

Perring returned on the evening of the 16th, bringing
thirteen mules, eight wild-looking Indians, and two persons in
uniform who had been sent by the Governor of Ambato as a
' guard of honour.'' He said that no vehicle of any kind could
be procured, and that the Indians had come to carry me upon
a litter. In the early morning they began to construct it, first
of all having to make ropes to bind it together ; and they

1 On Jan. 15, Jean-Antoine and I walked across the eastern end of Chim-
borazo, and turned the corner about a mile from the base of the Glacier de
Moreno. We continued round the northern side at a level of about 14,000 feet
until we were due south of the summits of Carihuairazo, then dropped down into
the valley which occupies the depression between the two mountains, and
descended it as far as the high road, and so came back to our starting-point.
Our tracli is not given upon the map.

In the course of this walk, we found a Calceolaria {0. rosmarinifolia, Lam.)
in abundance near Chuquipoquio ; and several species of Oentiana, of Lupinus
and Cerasiium, a Valeriana, a Vaccinium and a Ranunculus {R. Reruvianus,
Pers.) growing between 12,000 and 14,000 feet. The grasses upon the slopes
were principally Poas, Fescues, and Deyeuxias. When about 13,800 feet high we
caught sight of a large white spot about a mile off, and found it was an isolated
patch of a splendid grass (Gynerium argenteum, Nees) growing eight to nine
feet high, by the side of a little stream. A few days later we discovered the
same species two thousand feet lower, near Mocha, but these were the only
localities where it was noticed. A little below 14,000 feet, on the north-east
side of the mountain, at the foot of some cliffs, facing the north, I was attracted
from a long distance by the flowers of some Currant bushes (Ribes glandulosum,
R. & P.). This is the greatest elevation at which an example of that Order
was obtained in Ecuador.

TEA VELS AMONGST THE ORE A T ANDES. chap. iy.

THE ENTRANCE TO THE TAMBO.

accomplished the job in their own fashion pretty quickly,
covering the framework of poles with a superstructure of pon-
chos. Louis was hoisted into the saddle with his feet well
bandaged in lint and made up into bundles, and by nine o^clock
we were ready to leave.

But it was easier to get into the Tambo of Chuquipoquio
than out of it. The bill had to be settled, and it could not
be obtained, and in the meantime the caravan was kept locked
up in the courtyard. When the bill came, its portentous total
made me examine the items. It commenced by charging for
each individual thing supplied at a meal. Bread was put down
at two shillings for a few slices ; half a pint of milk was
entered at half-a-crown, and coffee at three shillings and two-
pence ; and after this ^^the meaP^ was charged for over again,
at a price which was quite adequate irrespective of the previous

CHAP. IV. THE ROBBER OF CHUQUIPOQUIO. 89

entries. A number of things were put down that had not been
supplied, and the total was made to amount to considerably
more than the proper addition of the items. These matters were
explained through Perring to the major-domo, who took the
account away, and kept us locked up.

After waiting more than an hour it came out that Senor
Chiriboga, our worthy host (who had travelled all the way
from Riobamba '^to supply our needs, to watch over and care
for us"^), was stowed away in a remote corner of the establish-
ment, and had been there during the whole of our stay — in
bed. I found the possible Marquis stretched out in a miserable
den, in an advanced state of intoxication, with a bottle of spirits
and a wine-glass on a chair by his side. He was made to
understand that there might be trouble if he continued to
detain my people, and after some parleying they were set free.
I then wasted a half-hour in discussion with the drunken man,
who evaded answers, and, sometimes addressing me as ' Your
Excellency^ and sometimes as ^ Doctor,^ kept on saying it was
^ all right,' and that his servant would see to it ; while the
wretched slave (who had no doubt acted under orders) declared
that he had followed instructions. '" Right, your Excellency, '''
said the landlord, "quite right, my servant will see to it."
"You hear what your master says, — you are to do what is
right." " My master told me to make out the bill in that
way," replied the major-domo. " You hear what your servant
says, Sefior Chiriboga." "Quite right, Doctor — take a drink;
yes, it is all right, my servant will do what is right." The
keys might have been obtained by force, but such a procedure
would most likely have given rise to prejudicial rumours. Of
the two evils I thought it was best to be swindled. I paid the
entire amount, under protest, and was then unlocked and joined
my people, who had halted about a mile away, wondering at
our non-appearance.

The road that we took to Ambato is almost the only one

90 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

in the interior of Ecuador. It was constructed by order of
Garcia Morena, a former President of the Eepublic, and it is in
more senses than one the highway to Quito. It commences at
Chuquipoquio, where the traveller to his surprise suddenly drops
from a trail or mule-path on to a road broad enough for four
or five vehicles to be driven abreast. It has slightly falling
gradients on leaving the tambo, and it then rises as it passes
over the Paramo of Sanancajas — a stretch of bleak moorland
forming part of the lower eastern slopes of Carihuairazo. It
then descends almost continuously to Ambato, bending round
and avoiding the village of Mocha^ through which the old track
to Quito passes.

In the following June-July • I measured by direct measure-
ment the distance by the road between Chuquipoquio and the
place marked by an asterisk on the Map of Chimborazo^ and
found it was 35,670 feet. When crossing the paramo it is
perfectly straight for two and a half miles, and this part and
many other sections of it are paved with round, knobbly stones
which are distressing alike to man and beast. They are found
so painful to traverse, that horsemen, baggage-animals, and
pedestrians decline to use the road when it is paved in this
manner, and go by preference into the little ditches on each
side, or even take to the wild moorland, where there is much
less risk of dislocating the ankles. The paved parts of the road
are rapidly becoming covered with grass. -

After crossing the Paramo of Sanancajas we descended into
the basin of Ambato. The litter, carried at the head of the

1 1 concur in the following remarks by Mr. Church. "Its great width appears
to me to be an error. I doubt if any part of it is used by five carts or carriages
per day. It is almost entirely used as a mule-track, for which it serves abundantly
well ; but the neglect of the Government to keep this excellent road in repair is
fast turning it into nothing but a mule-track. A year or two more, under its present
neglect, will make it impassable for carriages. . . . There are no plans in the Govern-
ment Offices of the cart-road, and the Government tells me that none exist." — Page 49
of a Report by Mr. George Earl Church to Mr. Blaine. AVashington, Feb. 15, 1883.

CARRIED ON THE LITTER INTO AMBATO.

CHAP. IV. THE GOVERNOR OF AMBATO. 91

caravan, escorted by the guards, seemed to be conveying some
malefactor to prison ; but the oddity of the sight excited no
attention, and the natives passed by stolid, or apathetic, as usual.
On arrival at the town,^ we went straight to the house of His
Excellency Senor Juan Guerrero Duprat, Minister for Foreign
Affairs, who had agreed to let a suite of his principal apart-
ments for four shillings a day ! and on the morrow sent for the
doctor Avho had been recommended. Dr. Abel Barona, a gentle-
man who left a pleasant recollection through skilful attention
combined with moderation in charges.^ In a few days he set
me up ; and promised Louis that in a week he would be able
to get about, — a good-natured fiction that did not deceive any
of us. Though the swelling was soon reduced, the flesh parted
in large gashes, and until these were healed he could not make
serious attempts at Avalking.

At the earliest opportunity, I paid a visit to the Governor.
The poor man was afflicted with the mumps, or some kindred
complaint, and had his jaws tied up with a coloured handker-
chief ; and, as he also wore a floral dressing-gown, his appear-
ance was rather decorative. He rose from a sort of divan, and
bowed very slowly and jorofoundly, with an obvious eye to effect.
But he was very courteous, and we soon got talking about the
possible Marquis. The Governor said that every one Avas robbed
at Chuquipoquio, and that a week seldom passed without com-
plaints coming to his ears. He suggested bringing an action
against Senor Chiriboga at Riobamba, and when I enquired
whether it was not the fact that he was very well connected,
and that it was possible the result might be unfortunate, he

^ Left Chuquipoquio at 11.15 a.m., and arrived at Mocha at 2.45 p.m. Halted
until 4, and arrived at Ambato at 9 p.m. From the reasons mentioned in the
text, we travelled slowly. I found the litter a verj' suitable and pleasant method
of conveyance. The Indians shambled or jog-trotted almost the entire distance,
without shewing signs of fatigue.

2 These details are given as a set-off to our experiences at Chuquipoquio. The
treatment at that place was quite exceptional.

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

replied ^' it is possible, it is possihle " with an emphasis and look

that shewed we understood each other.

A number of persons hon-
oured us with visits whilst we
were at Ambato, for it soon
got noised abroad that '^the
gringos '" had arrived. Besides
the usual individuals with
visions of gold mines and
dreams of buried treasure,
there was a General whose
sole impediment to opening
up a new route to the Ama-
zons was the immediate want
of fifty pounds. As this hap-
pened to be the exact sum for
which I felt a pressing need,
we did not do much business
together. Following him came
a gentleman who seemed to
think that we lacked occupa-
tion. Although he spoke Eng-
lish fluently, there was a certain
want of sequence in his re-
marks which made me fancy
that he was an escaped lunatic.
He kindly put his observations

into writing in order that they might be studied at leisure, and

I am thus enabled to present some of his suggestions in his

own words. ^

In the course of his explorations, my Chief of the Staff

discovered a compatriot, who was engaged in the manufacture

1 The following is the opening paragraph of the document he sent me. "The
Government of the Equator have the desire to erect a piramid in the point of

SENOR JUAN GUERRERO DUPRAT.

CHAP. IV. ENGLISH AS SHE IS WRITTEN AT AMBATO. 93

of Dry Sherry. Jean - Antoine's account of the process was a
little deficient in lucidity, but as he made it quite clear that
Plaster of Paris largely entered into it, and that the juice of
the grape did not come in at all, I took good care to avoid the
Dry Sherry of Ambato. Paolo Oberti, the ingenious manufac-
turer of this beverage, had accompanied Dr. Wagner upon his
*^^ ascent^' of Chimborazo, and voluntarily made the declaration
which is given below. ^

Ambato contains, I imagine, about 5000 inhabitants, yet for
six days in the week it wears the lifeless aspect common to all
the towns of the interior. On Mondays troops of people pour
in from the surrounding villages, for the most part mounted
(as no person who has the least respect for himself goes on
foot), the cavaliers accompanied by their dames, riding the same
beast, astride, — perched in front of their lords, or else behind,
holding on to their waists ; while the despised peons trudge
barefooted through the dust, driving mules or asses bringing
rolls of matting, baskets of cackling fowls, or sacks of maize,
potatoes and other farm-produce, for sale at the market in the
great Plaza.

intercession of the Equator with the Meridian, and you may aid to lix it. With
this purpose it would be well to profit of the works of Bouguer and Lacondamine,
and in order that I may be well understood will put in Spanish language, that
you may do a good translation into the english, speaking in Quito with the sage
Dr. Menthem (a german) the director of astronomical observatory, besides the
inscriptions will put in latin language, because theirs authors themselves have
put in that tongue."

1 [Translation.] "On the occasion that Paul Oberti accompanied Dr. Maurice
Wagner to make an ascent of Chimborazo, on the occidental side, about the end
of 1858 or the beginning of 1859, the Doctor was attacked with intermittent fever,
and he likewise met with insurmountable difficulties which prevented him from
reaching the top of Chimborazo. He was only able to reach the line of perpetual
snow.

" It is to be understood that the said ascent was made on the opposite side of

the Arenal. They slept in the sheep-pen nearest to the mountain of Chimborazo,

belonging to the farm of Santa Rosa.

Pablo Oberti.
"Ambato, Jan. 21, 1880."

94 TRAVELS A3I0NOST THE ORE AT ANDES, chap. iv.

Some previous writer has justly said that this place seems
like an oasis in a desert. The hills in its immediate vicinity
are mostly bare, monotonous ridges covered with volcanic dust,
which is set in movement by the slightest breath of air. These
surface dusts are a heterogeneous assemblage, to some extent
derived from the fundamental soil, and partly by drift from other
localities, or by fresh depositions from the most recent eruptions
of the yet active volcanoes of the Eepublic. A little way below
the surface one comes to a vast deposit of pumice, not in blocks
or lumps that would be termed pumice-stone, but in fragments
which have been ejected during some terrific convulsion, or period
of eruptions. The town of Ambato is built on this deposit.^ The
comparative coarseness of the fragments seems to indicate that
the place of eruption was not far distant. The largest ones may
measure a quarter of an inch in diameter, and weigh as much as
J to J of a grain. They more commonly weigh about thirty to a
grain, and range in size from "05 to "1 of an inch in diameter.

Pumice in lumps or masses no doubt exists in large quan-
tities in the interior of Ecuador, though I saw little of it. The
largest pieces I found in situ were upon the summit ridge of
the highest point of Pichincha, and these were scarcely a foot
in diameter. Natural blocks of it are sometimes hollowed out
and employed as filters, and there was one of these in daily use
in the house of Senor Duprat.

In the course of our journey, this pumiceous dust was met
with again, overlain by other dusts which had been ejected during

1 It has been examined microscopically by Prof. T. G. Bonney and Miss
Catherine A. Raisin, who have favoured me with the following report. " The
material is mainly a colourless, vesicular pumice. Much of it is quite clear, but
many of the fragments have entangled within them some small microliths, and
also plates of a pale greenish mica, which occurs occasionally in small clearly-
defined crystals, shewing pseudo-hexagonal form ('02 mm. to 'Ol mm. diameter).
Some of the mica has a yellowish or brownish colour. Small spheroidal blebs
occur within the pumice, brownish and granular, which appear to be a deposit
coloured by oxide of iron."

CHAP. IV.

PUMICE.

subsequent eruptions. At the town of Machachi, more than
fifty miles away, it was found ten feet below the surface, covered
by three beds of volcanic ash which amounted in the aggregate
to 52 inches in thickness,
of an entirely different
nature, each having a
strongly marked character
of its own. The pumice
here is in extremely min-
ute fragments. It is rare
to find amongst it one as
much as -^ of an inch in
diameter. The majority
are much smaller, and
many thousands go to a
grain. From the critical
examination to which it
has been subjected, there is
no doubt that the pumice
at Machachi was ejected
at the same period as that
at Ambato ; and from hav-
ing superimposed upon it
other vast beds of ash, from
eruptions which occurred
beyond the range of his-
tory, one may conclude
that it is amongst the

older of the more recent volcanic products of Ecuador. It is the
invariable rule with volcanic dusts that the grosser particles settle
first ; and, as the finest ones are found much to the north of Am-
bato, it would appear that the dominant winds, at the time the
dust was blown into the air, were directed from south to north.
There were some pleasant walks on the western side of the

A PUMICE FILTER AT AMBATO.

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

town amongst which we sauntered for recreation. One day,
Jean-Antoine and I came upon a tame llama, browsing by the
side of a lane. It was the first my companion had seen, and
he approached the animal to stroke its nose ; but alas, when he
was within a couple of yards, the gentle creature reared its
pretty head and spat in his face. Carrel was greatly affronted,
and to soothe his ruffled feelings I proposed a walk in the
garden of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, a shady retreat on
the right bank of the little river that flows through the town.
Presently we saw a Bishop amongst the bushes. His Lordship
was dressed in orange and black, and had very hairy legs. We
did not, however, at that time know it was a Bishop, or we should
have been more discreet.
Jean - Antoine unceremo-
niously clapped him on the
back, then gave a great
yell, and the Bishop flew
away. I conjecture that
Ambato has been unfortu-
nate in its episcopal rulers,
for nothing can well be
more stinging than the
charges of this insect.

Though Louis began to improve, it was evident that a long
time would elapse before we could count upon his assistance,
and we others had to consider what we should do with our-
selves. Tunguragua was the nearest large mountain to Ambato,
and this had been already investigated by Messrs. Eeiss and
Stiibel.^ Altar and Sangai were too far away. After many con-

1 Some account of Tunguragua is given in the little pamphlet by Dr. Stiibel
entitled Carta del Dr. Alfonso Stiibel a S. E. el Presidente de la Repuhlica, sobre
sus vlajes a las montanas Chimborazo, Altar, y en especial sobre siis ascensiones al
Tunguragua y Cotopaxi. Quito, 1873.

Tunguragua does not keep in a state of continual activit}' like Cotopaxi and
Sangai, though it is by no means an extinct volcano. It broke out into violent

BISHOP OF AMBATO.

CHAP. IV. THE BASIN OF A3IBAT0. 97

sultations it was determined to shift head-quarters to Machachi
Avhere Jean - Antoine and I could find occupation until the dis-
abled man had recovered. On Jan. 24 we marched to Latacunga,
and on the 25th to Machachi ; as usual, with a train of mules, for
no vehicle — not even a bullock-cart — could be obtained at Ambato.^

The basin of Ambato, which we traversed on the 24th, is
bounded on the south by a spur thrown out from Carihuairazo
in the direction of Tunguragua ; on the west by low mountains
for which I heard no distinctive name ; and on the east by an
important block, containing lofty summits, that are known under
the general appellation of the mountains of Llanganati.^ On
approaching Latacunga the slopes draw in from each side, and
form the northern boundary of the basin, and after passing the
town they again retire, and circle round what may be termed
the basin of Latacunga, which is bounded and enclosed on the
north by the Tiupullo ridge. The Kiver Cutuchi drains the
basin of Latacunga, and has not a deep bed. After passing the
town, until near Banos, this same river is called the Patate,
and throughout the greater part of its course flows through a
deep and striking ravine, a portion of which is well seen from
the village of Yambo. The Eiver Pastassa is formed by the
junction of the Patate and the Eiver Chambo, coming from the
basin of Riobamba.

The town of Ambato is at the lowest point of the road

(8600 feet), which rises gently almost all the way to Latacunga

eruptiou on Jan. 12, 1886, and, I am informed by Mr. Chambers, did much damage.
Asli from tliis outburst fell at Guayaquil,

1 At this time an omnibus ran from Ambato to Quito once a week, leaving at
mid-day on Tuesdays, and arriving at its destination about 4 p.m. on Wednes-
days. The seats had been engaged in advance, and we were thus unable to make
use of it. This was the only coach of any sort running in the interior of Ecuador.

- The importance of the mountains of Llanganati will not be apprehended by
any one passing along the Quito road. Their outlying portions, which are alone
seen, do not suggest the rugged and complicated ranges that are in the rear. The
complete exploration of this district alone would afford a traveller good occupation
for several years.

98 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. iv.

(9140), a place with perhaps 5000 inhabitants, built on rather
flat ground, dangerously near to a stream that is liable to sudden
swellings when Cotopaxi is in eruption. AYe went by advice to the
little hotel of Pompeyo Baquero, — the best kept house we entered
in Ecuador. Everything was clean, and the place was free from
fleas, a fact which was the more welcome because Ambato was
densely populated with these wild animals. In the apartments
we had just quitted there w^ere more fleas per square yard than
I have known anywhere. When rays of sunlight streamed in
through the windows, a sort of haze was seen extending about a
foot above the floor, caused by myriads of them leaping to and fro.

The favourable impression which was created by the pro-
priety of Baquero's hotel was utterly destroyed by what we saw
upon leaving this town. At the door of every house on the
sunny side of the street leading to the bridge, the ladies of
Latacunga were basking in the warmth. Mothers had their
children reposing in their laps, and daughters seemed to be
caressing their parents. To the non-observant they would have
formed sweet pictures of parental and filial affection. A glance
was enough to see that all this assemblage were engaged in eating
the vermin which they picked out of each other's hair. Accord-
ing to the old historians, this habit was established in the country
before the Spanish conquest. It is practised now by the hybrid
Ecuadorian race as much as by the pure Indians. There were
more than two dozen groups on one side of this single street
engaged in this revolting occupation, which they carried on with-
out shame in the most public manner. Though I shook the
dust of this town off m}^ feet, it was impossible to forget the
Ladies of Latacunga, for the same disgusting sight was forced
upon our attention throughout the whole of the interior.

Upon leaving the town, under the guidance of Mr. Perring,
we took the road on the right bank (western side) of the Cutuchi.
This part of the Moreno road was erased during the eruptions of
Cotopaxi in 1877, and no doubt it will be swept away again.

CHAP. IV. A VALIANT INN-KEEPER. 99

as it is very slightly higher than the ordinary level of the river.
Scarcely a person was seen between Latacunga and Callo, for
the arrieros (who form almost the whole of the travelling popu-
lation of the country) prefer the old road on the left bank (eastern
side), as this is more elevated above the stream, and has con-
tiguous rising ground to which they can escape in case of inun-
dation. The two roads reunite just to the north of Callo, —
one of the bladder-like hills, common in Ecuador^ that are termed
^panecillos.^ Here one commences the ascent of the Tiupullo
ridge (a sort of connecting link between Illiniza and Rumifiahui),
and rising in serpentine bends reaches the height of 11,559 feet;^
and then, after passing a gently undulating tract which may
almost be compared with the Surrey highlands, descends by
somewhat abrupt zigzags into the basin of Machachi. Daylight
had gone when we entered upon the longest piece of straight
road in Ecuador, and it seemed interminable in the darkness.
AVhen we arrived at the village every one had fastened up for
the night and gone to bed. Pleadings for admittance were un-
heeded, so the effect of whip-handles and hob-nailed boots was
tried. Presently a husband and wife were heard in consultation.
*^My dear,"" said the masculine voice, '^it"s robbers; you had better
go to the door."" It was opened very reluctantly by a dishevelled
female, who found it was '^ only the gringos/' and at length the way
into the courtyard was unbarred, and admitted us to the tambo
kept by Antonio Racines, who became our host for several weeks.

» This is the height of the summit of the road. The highest points upon this
ridge are three small peaks called Chaupi, which can be seen from long distances.
The view from the top of the Tiupullo ridge is one of the most extensive in Ecuador.
It embraces Tunguragua and Chimborazo on the south ; Illiniza, Cotopaxi, and
Rumihahui close at hand; and extends as far north as Cotocachi (distant seventy-
five miles). The city of Quito cannot, however, be seen from it.

ONE OF MY YOUNG FRIENI

CHAPTEE y.

OK AN ASCENT OF CORAZON", AND WALKS IN THE LANES OF

MACHACHI.

Certain circumstances led me to say in the morning, " Sen or
Racines, now tell me, upon your word of honour as a gentle-
man, Are there fleas in this house V There was just a fractional
hesitation, and then the tambo-keeper answered with the air of
a man who spoke the truth, " Senor, upon my word of honour,
there are.'" The information had been confirmed beforehand.
It was decided to have a general clear out, and Jean-Antoine,
to his credit, became chief housemaid. The contents of our
apartments were taken into the gallery of the courtyard, and
were scrubbed, brushed, beaten or shaken, much to the wonder
of the natives. The news spread, and soon the 2^atio was filled
with a troop of sallow urchins, grinning from ear to ear.
'' These gringos are very odd,"' they said. '^ See ! that is the
Senor patron. Look!^' — pointing to Jean-Antoine — ^^ that is
Senor Juan. AYhat a fine beard ! ^'

ciBAP. V. LIFE IN THE INTERIOR. 101

In these operations Louis could not be of much service, as
he needed absolute repose. His time was principally employed
in the study of a coarsely-coloured print of the Immaculate
Conception, and in watching a little girl in blue, at the general
shop on the opposite side of the road, who alternated the sale
of rolls with the occupation of the Ladies of Latacunga. When
he began to hobble about, and could sit in a chair on our little
balcony, life became more interesting to him ; for his eye could
sweep over the whole of the great basin of Machachi, and trace
the Quito road from Tambillo to the Tiupullo ridge, with the
passing herds of cattle ; or see, right in front, the daily thunder-
clouds gather round the cliffs of Euminahui and Pasochoa, and,
in the vista between the two, the needle-crest of Sincholagua,
or, on rare occasions, the noble, snow-clad mass of Antisana.

From our windows on the upper floor of the tambo, all that
passed on the road came under our inspection. In the early
morning cattle were shifted from one place to another, and some-
times a wild bull went along, in charge of mounted men, lassoed
fore and aft ; a horseman in the front towing it by the horns,
and two others each with a separate fastening in the rear, ready
to check its pace if it became too frisky, or to give it a touch
with their lances if it needed stimulus.

As day advanced, arrieros with their teams made their
appearance, and they constituted tne greater part of the passers-
by. Though travelling for the sake of viewing their country
is a thing unpractised by Ecuadorians, we saw occasionally
some one a little out of the common, going perhaps on a visit
to a neighbouring farm, and such a person was generally worth
examination. AVhen got up correctly, he wears a so-called
Panama hat, a straw hat which will roll up and can be put in
the pocket, and may cost anything between ten shillings and
ten pounds.^ To take care of this precious article he puts on
a white outer casing, but as this would get spoiled by rain he

1 The lowest price I heard quoted in Quito was nine shillings.

102

TRAVELS A310NGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v.

covers it with oilskin, so that he has three hats one on top of
the other. To protect his eyes he ought to use a pair of Mue
goggles. Outside, he displays a poncho of superior quality, and
underneath it there are several of a coarser kind.^ What he
may Avear in the way of trousers cannot be said, for they are
covered up by buskins made from the skin of some wild animal,
and his feet are nearly invisible. If seen, one most likely observes
that his toes are
peeping through
his shoes. But
for all deficien-
cies thereabouts
he makes up in
the heel, by his
spurs, which are

gigantic. The annexed figure represents what is considered a
moderate thing in spurs. ^ If he is properly fitted out, he carries
at the button-hole a carved drinking-cup, and at his side a tre-
mendous sheath-knife, or
machefa, an article that
is supposed to be neces-
sary for clearing away
branches. A person of
distinction will be strong
in his whip, which will
—''^~'^^- ' " \\'AN^ a wrought - iron

handle, as it is found that that description does not break so
readily on the head of a mule as a wooden one, and he will carry
a guitar at his saddle-bow. Such a person, according to the phrase

1 The ponchos in most general use were coarse woollen ones, measuring
52 X 52 inches. They cost seven or eight shillings apiece, and seemed usually
to be made locally. There was a poncho-maker nearly opposite to us at Mach-
achi. In Quito and to the north, cotton ponchos are frequently worn. They are
both lighter and cheaper.

' The rowels sometimes measure five inches across.

CHAP. V.

MY YOUNG FBJENDS.

103

of the country, is '^a great cavalier/ and if he is decently mounted
he may aspire to marry any woman in the land.

In the evening, when traffic ceased, the youth of the fau-
hourg turned out for the only pastime they enjoyed, which
consisted in whacking a huge ball in the air by clubs
fastened around their wrists. The Christian names of
the children of this place were of the fanciful kind
common in Ecuador. Fidelity might be seen playing
with Conception, or Incarnation running after Immor-
tality. They became useful as collectors, and angled
for reptiles which they would not dare to touch, and
brought them in alive, dangling from cotton nooses
at the end of sticks.^ ''What/^ my young friends
timidly enquired of the dusky Indian youth who was
nominal waiter and actual slave at the tambo, ^* does
the Senor Doctor do with all these things ? '^ and, when
it was heard that they were collected with a view to
the future, the rumour was circulated that we lived
on lizards and frogs, and were thought more odd than
before.

Machachi reposes upon a series of strata of vol-
canic ash or dust which must have been emitted dur-
ing eruptions incomparably more severe than any that
are recorded. The sections which can be seen by the
sides of the lanes shew this very clearly. In one that
was exposed in the road nearly opposite to the tambo,
leading to the village proper, the surface soil which
was under cultivation was about six feet deep, composed of a mis-
cellaneous assemblage of volcanic debris. This was followed by
a horizontal stratum of the finest ash, ten inches thick, almost
as soft to the touch as cotton -wool. It was perfectly uniform
in character throughout ; composed of infinitesimal fragments,

1 Nothing would induce Ecuadorians — either whites or Indians — to touch
lizards, and they were almost equally afraid to handle frogs.

SURFACE SOIL. SIX FEET DEEP

FINER BASALTIC ASH, TWELVE INCHES

104 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. t.

and may properly be termed an impalpable powder. It is found
to be principally made up of felspar and hornblende^ with some
pumice and a small admixture of mica and magnetic particles.^

Underneath it comes a
dark and comparatively
coarse basaltic ( ?) ash, two
TRACHYTic DUST, TEN INCHES fcct aud a lialf tlilck ; and

this is succeeded by a finer

, , .-, ,,,.;_ ash of the same nature,

one foot deep. In these
two strata, three feet and
a half thick, pumice occurs

VOLCANIC DUST, DEPTH UNKNOWN OUly lU SUiali qUaUtltlCS.

Underneath them, extend-
ing how deep I do not
know, there is a fine and brilliantly white dust of a totally dis-
tinct character from all above it. This mainly consists of pumice,
and closely approximates in its constitution to the coarser ash
which was found at Ambato (see pp. 94-5).^ These four beds are

' Prof. T. G. Bonney and Miss Raisin say: "It consists largely of mineral
fragments, which are often of broken crystalline form. The coarser vary from
•05 to -15 mm. in length, the finer may average from -01 to -02 mm. Pumice
is present, some of it enclosing fairly large crystals. The minerals in the ash are
chiefly felspar (some being contained within the pumice) and green pyroxene, so far
as could be ascertained, hornblende. A few largish chips of brown mica occur,
and some black opaque grains, probably an iron oxide. The finest dust seems to
consist chiefly of felspar and of pumice."

2 Almost the sole point of difference between them is that the Ambato deposit
contains a considerable percentage of rocky fragments. This is better seen in
bulk than in microscopic samples.

"The lowest stratum at Machachi consists mainly of clear, colourless vesicular
pumice, which includes greenish mica, some in minute hexagonal plates. This
ash is very like that from Ambato" (described on p. 94), "but is rather clearer,
having fewer of the microlithic aggregations, and it contains more numerous grains
of a clear felspar, mostly in angular chips. Brown or greenish spheroids occur,
which are probably similar to those of Ambato ; they are very regular in form,
sometmies shewing rounded holes or granular structure, and they rather mimic
the appearance of casts of organisms."— Prof. T. G. Bonney and Miss C. A. Raisin.

CHAP. V. THE BASIN OF 3IACIIACHI. 105

divided from one another almost as sharply as in the section upon
p. 104, and each evidently belongs either to a single eruption, or
period of eruptions.

Machachi is situated^ towards the bottom of a basin measur-
ing about twenty -one miles from north to south and eleven
from east to west, which is bounded on the north by the Tam-
billo ridge (a modest eminence connecting the lower slopes of
Atacatzo with the Puengasi ridge), on the south by the Tiupullo
ridge, on the east by Kuminahui and Pasochoa, and on the west
by the north-eastern slopes of Illiniza, Corazon, and the south-
eastern slopes of Atacatzo. The elevation of this area is greater
than the basins of Latacunga or Riobamba, and with the excep-
tion of its north-east corner it is everywhere more than 10,000
feet above the sea. The drainage of the basin is collected into
a small stream called the Rio Grande,^ which passes to the east
of the Puengasi ridge, and ultimately falls into the Pacific at
Esmeraldas. The high road to Quito ^ runs very directly across
the bottom of this basin, falling slightly the whole way from
south to north, as far as the little cluster of houses called Tam-
billo, where the ascent of the ridge of the same name commences ;
and, when this is passed, the basin of Quito is entered, and the
road again falls continuously towards the capital.

Illiniza, Corazon, Atacatzo, Pasochoa, and Rumifiahui stand

^ The tambo and a long line of straggling houses are upon the high road, but
the town (or village) proper of Machachi is about three-quarters of a mile to the
east. The entire population amounts perhaps to 2500 persons.

2 Where we crossed it on our way to Pedregal it was not more than two feet
deep and fifty across. It was frequently remarked that the volume of water in
the streams was exceedingly small, considering the areas drained by them. This
is no doubt due to the soil being greatly fissured. In December, I walked across
the Chimbo at Guaranda from stone to stone without wetting my feet. The bridge
seemed dangerously low, but I was informed by the authorities that it was never
in risk of being carried away, although the rainfall there, as well as in the in-
terior generally, was considerable.

^ In Jan., Feb., and June I measured 22,385 feet where it runs across the
plain. The measurement extended from the most northern house of Machachi to
the fine bridge of Jambeli, the largest structure of its kind I saw in Ecuador.

106 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. v.

around the rim of the basin of Machaclii. The imposing figures
which are given upon my map as their elevations above the
level of the sea may lead some to suppose that this mountain
panorama must be exceptionally fine. From more than one reason
this is not the case. It should be understood that in the heart of
the Ecuadorian Andes there are no such rugged chains as are
considered Alpine.^ The character of much of the interior is hilly
rather than mountainous. There are long stretches of barren soil,
for which the term moorland is the nearest English equivalent ;
and large^ flat or slightly undulating areas which may not
improperly be called plains.^ The elevation of this land is about
9000 feet above the sea, and out of (or from and above) it the
mountains rise which have a world - wide reputation ; and in
considering them it is necessary, in order to form a just con-
ception of their absolute magnitude, and of their relative impor-
tance as compared with well-known peaks in the Alps and
elsewhere, to apply a constant deduction of 8-9000 feet to the
heights which they are stated to rise above the sea -level. This
is not all. The lower slopes of most of the mountains of the
i]iterior are unusually long, and rise at very moderate inclina-
tions,^ and the amount of precipitous ground is less in proportion
to the total height than is commonly the case elsewhere. By
reason of this, it is possible to take beasts of burden to the
great heights that are mentioned throughout this volume. From
my mountaineer's point of view some of these peaks 13,000 feet
and upwards in elevation were contemptible, for to all appear-
ance, by exercising a little ingenuity, one could ride to their
summits on the back of a mule or donkey.*

1 The only exception to this general statement may perhaps be found in the
mountains of Llanganati.

2 Such as the plains of Riobamba, Machachi, and Tumbaco.

3 This applies only to the interior. The western (or outer) slopes of the
Pacific Range of Ecuador would be accounted steep by any one.

* This was the case with Pasochoa (13,961) and Atacatzo (14,892). We actually
took a donkey above 14,000 feet on Pichincha.

CHAP. V. A RED-LETTER DAY. 107

Illiniza was obviously the loftiest of the several mountains
which have been enumerated^ and I sent Jean-Antoine on Jan.
29-30 to reconnoitre it ; but as he reported that it was nearly
inaccessible from the north we turned our attentions to Corazon,
at first ludicrously under-estimating its distance. We went out
late one day, expecting to reach the top and come back again,
and did not even get to the foot of the actual peak. This,
however, was a red - letter day — we saw a dead donkey, under a
hedge about 1500 feet above Machachi ; and a few hundred feet
higher met a scorpion who was coming downhill.^

Corazon was ascended a century and a half ago by La Con-
damine and Bouguer. The former says expressly (at p. 58 of
vol. 1 of his Journal du Voyage) that they made the expedition
upon July 20, 1738.^ In the prosecution of their work, they
encamped twenty - eight days somewhere upon the mountain
(doubtless upon its eastern side), but there are no precise indi-
cations of the route which was taken by them, nor could any
information be obtained at Machachi, though a certain Ecuadorian

1 It has been identified as Brotlieas subnitetis, Gervais, by Prof. E. Ray Lankester.
Scorpions were very seldom seen in the open, though they were abundant at

Machachi, and could be found almost everywhere by turning- over stones. At
Quito, too,- they were numerous in old walls. But, throughout the entire journey,,
at all our upper camps Ave did not discover a single one, and they could hardly
have been overlooked, as the ground was always levelled for the establishment
of the tents. It is probable, therefore, that 12,000 feet is about the upper limit
of the range of the scorpion in Ecuador.

2 " Un vent froid et piquant nous couvrit en peu de temps de verglas : il nous
fallut en plusieurs endroits gravir contre le rocher, en nous aidant des pieds et
des mains : enfin nous atteignimes le sommet. . . . Ce sommet etoit eleve de
250 toises au dessus de notre signal, et surpassoit de 40 le Pic de Pitchincha, ou
nous avions campe I'annee precedente ; aussi le mercure etoit-il plus bas d'environ
deux lignes au Coragon: il s'y soutenoit a 15 pouces 10 lignes. Personne n'a vu
le barometre si bas dans I'air libre; et vraisemblablement personne n'a monte a
ime plus grande hauteur : nous etions 2470 toises au dessus du niveau de la mer."

In Histoire de VAcademie Royale des Sciences (annee 1746), Paris, 1751, in a list
of the highest mountains of 'the Province of Quito,' this mountain is entered
"El Coragon, la plus grande hauteur ou I'on ait monte."

108 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. v.

named Lorenzo vowed that he had been to the top. This man
was engaged to act as our guide. ^

The mountain Corazon has received its name from a resem-
blance it is supposed to have to a heart. It is a prominent object
from Machachi, placed almost exactly midway between Atacatzo
and Illiniza. Its slopes extend to the outlying village of Aloasi,

MACHACHI AND CORAZON.

and after rising gently and then abruptly lead one to easy grass
land^ which continues uninterruptedly to the foot of a cliff
about 800 feet high, that is found at the top of the mountain.
With trouble, one might ride, upon the eastern side, to within
a thousand feet of the summit. On some days the mountain
was almost covered with snow down to 14,500 feet, and on others
no snow whatever was seen on any part of it.

' Local guidance is useful over the lower slopes, as they contain large earth-
quake fissures (quebradas) which are occasionally quite impassable.

CHAP. V. ASCENT OF CORAZON. 109

Lorenzo led us to a place a long way to the south of the
summit, and then evidently came to the end of his knowledge.
On his ' ascent ' he had gone as far as one can go with the hands
in the pockets, and had stopped when it was necessary to take
them out/ We continued in the same direction to see what
the western side was like, and presently put on the rope. Our
guide was the first to be tied up, and, though he said little, his
face expressed a good deal. Possibly he supposed that he had
been inveigled to this lonely spot to be sacrificed on the cairn
of stones put together by Jean-Antoine, which bore a suspicious
resemblance to an altar.

The western side of the highest part of Corazon, like the
eastern side, is formed of a great cliff. Snow gullies run up
into it, and one of these, towards the south end of the ridge,
seemed to promise easy access to the summit. AYe had only
progressed a few yards on this couloir when the clatter and buzz
of falling stones was heard, which flew down at a tremendous
pace, quite invisible as they passed by. We retired under cover
of some rocks to read the barometer,^ and then returned to the
south end of the peak, skirted the base of the eastern cliff,
worked round to the north side, and ascended by the ridge that
descends towards Atacatzo.^

^ This man, however, was a good fellow ; cheerful and willing-, and an excellent
pedestrian.

'•' The original unreduced reading at 8.45 a.m. was 17-383 inches, temp.
37° Faht.

2 Lorenzo remained below, trying to dry his trousers. We started from
Machachi at midnight on Feb. 1, reached the summit at noon on Feb. 2, left it
at 3.10 p.m., and, rejoining our guide, continued towards Machachi until we struck
the route taken on Jan. 27 ; and then, as it was getting dusk and the ground was
not familiar to our man, thought it better to bear away to the south, and return
by the route which was taken in the morning. We got back to Machachi at
7.45 p.m.

The route on this day was unnecessarily circuitous, and is not given on the
map. The ascent of Corazon can be made most easily by taking the line we fol-
lowed on Jan, 27, as far as we went, and completing it in the same way as upon
Feb. 2. The track on the map combines portions of the routes of these two days.

110 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v.

The upper part of Corazon is a great wall, roughly flat on
the top, which is, I believe, a dyke — a mass of lava that has
welled up through a fissure. At its highest, it is nearly level
over a length of 250 feet, and is only a few yards across from
east to west/ At 1.15 p.m., on the highest j)oint, the mercurial
barometer read 16-974 inches, at a temperature of 43° Faht.
The height deduced (15,871 feet) is slightly greater than that
assigned to the mountain by La Condamine (2470 toises), and
by Eeiss and Stiibel (4816 metres). The extreme difference
between the three measurements amounts to seventy-five feet.

There was on the summit an
indication of a previous ascent
in two dressed fragments of
rock, about nine inches long,
which caught the eye directly
we arrived. They were a black,
scoriaceous lava^ similar to the
highest rock obtained on Chim-
borazo, and subsequently on
various parts of the cone of
Cotopaxi. I saw no natural
fragments of it on Corazon, and therefore conclude that these
dressed pieces must have been transported some distance by the

1 Though the summit was free from snow, and there was none on the eastern
side, there was much in gullies on the western side, and we fancied there might
be considerable beds or even a glacier below. Viewed from the west this mountain
would be considered to be within the snow-line.

The theodolite was brought up, in the hope that angles might be obtained.
We were surrounded by mists nearly the whole time — sometimes not being able
to see the length of the summit ridge. For a few seconds there was an opening
which gave a superb view of Cotopaxi, whitened by new snow, rising above the
dark cliffs of Rumiiiahui, and behind it the mountains that lie to the east of the
basin of Ambato. This was the only glimpse I had of the mountains of Llanganati,
and from this casual glance I think an explorer of that region will find plenty of
occupation, for the mountains are close and steep, and the region seems complicated.
There was much snow upon the highest points.

DRESSED ROCKS FOUND ON CORAZON.

CHAP. V. ON THE SUMMIT OF CORAZON. Ill

person or persons who deposited them on the spot where they
were fonnd.'

The rock of the summit is described by Prof. Bonney as an
augite-andesite/ and closely' resembles examples from several of
the mountains which will be referred to in later chapters. Its
natural colour is a slaty-grey^ but this is only apparent in newly-
broken, unweathered fragments. Surfaces which are exposed to
the atmosphere become a dull red (approximating to Indian red),
and this colouring doubtless arises from the rusting of the iron
that is present in these lavas. ^

The summit ridge was by no means exclusively rocky. The
scoriaceous surfaces, by decay, had been converted into soil, and
in the earth so formed there was quite a little flora. I collected
five lichens and as many mosses, three Drabas, a Lycopodium, a
Werneria, and an Arenaria. These were growing upon the very
apex of the mountain, and from their abundance and vigorous
condition it was clear that most if not all of the species might
have attained a considerably greater elevation if there had been
higher ground in the vicinity.*

From amongst this vegetation, I disinterred an earthworm,

^ On return to Machachi, no one could throw light on the matter. The objects
appeared to have been on the summit for j^ears ; yet (though they were not freshly
dressed) they did not appear to be a century and a half old. One can hardly sup-
pose that La Condamine and Bouguer indulged in this frivolity. To have trimmed
these specimens with such regularity would have occupied a considerable length
of time. They weigh eight pounds.

"^ Proc. Royal Soc, June 19, 1884, and Supp. App., p. 142.

^ The volcanic dusts referred to on pp. 125, 141 are only this rock in a finely-
divided state. If some of it is placed upon a sheet of paper and a magnet is moved
about underneath, it will appear to dance. The particles of iron can be drawn off
and separated from the rocky ones by means of the magnet.

4 *Alectoria divergens, Ach., Gyrophora sp., ^'Neuropogon melaxanthus, Nyl.,
Farmelia sp., Stereocaulon sp.; '^Andrecea striata^ Mitt., Bartramia aristata, Mitt.,
*B. Potodca, Mont., Cryptodium lutescens, Jaeg., Orihotrichum sp. ; "^Lycopodium
Saururus^ L. ; *Draba imbricata, C. A. Mey., B. obovata, Benth., and * another
(not determined); Arenaria dicranoides, H.B.K. Those marked with an asterisk
were abundant.

112 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v.

a beetle, a bug, and some spiders. Several species of flies were
seen on the ridge, but I only succeeded in capturing one. The
earthworm was about an inch long, and in an immature condition.
Prof. W. B. Benham has referred it to the genus Rhinodrilus of
Perrier, and thinks it is probably the same species that was sub-
sequently found upon Cayambe, which he names R. Ecuador iensis}
Few earthworms were seen at great elevations in Ecuador, and
the summit of Corazon was much the highest point at which one
was obtained. The beetle is found by Mr. Bates to belong to
the genus Colpodes, and is described by him at p. 20 of the
Supplementary Appendix [G. diopsis). It was also taken on
Pichincha.

The scantiness of the collection on the summit of Corazon is
to be attributed to the hailstorms which occurred while we were
there. Rain, sleet, hail, or snow often impeded or completely
put a stop to this description of work. When the atmospheric
conditions were favourable something was always obtained, wher-
ever we went ; and at the greatest heights I laid hands upon
everything that was seen, either animal or vegetable, anticipating
that the zoological side, at least, would yield much new to science.^
Whether this should or should not prove to be the case, the occa-
sions afforded opportunities of contributing to the knowledge of
the range of species in altitude. The results, so far as they have
been worked out, are presented in the Supplementary Appendix^
and in the Tables in Chapter XIX. the representatives of the
various Orders are enumerated which were obtained at the most
considerable elevations.

By the expression range in altitude I mean the difference in
level of the highest and lowest points at which any particular

1 See Chapter XII. This is the fourth species that has been found of the genus
Rhinodrilun. The three others came from Venezuela, Surinam, and Demerara.

2 The Botany of the interior of Ecuador had been investigated by the late Prof.
William Jameson, who resided many years at Quito, and made excursions in its
neighbourhood. For some time he held two appointments in the capital. Being
a Professor of Botany, he was made, very appropriately, Master of the Mint.

CHAP. V. RANGE IN ALTITUDE. 113

species may be found./ If one should be obtained or observed
at the level of the sea and also at 10,000 feet above it, its observed
range in altitude would be 10,000 feet. Most things, either animal
or vegetable, have a much more limited range than this, yet there
are some which attain or even exceed it.

Insects in the Great Andes of the Equator range higher than
birds. At the greatest heights they were found less upon the
surface than in the soil, sometimes living amongst stones im-
bedded in ice, in such situations and numbers as to preclude the
idea that they were stragglers. Small in size, and unattractive in
appearance, they have hitherto been entirely overlooked. Though
some species were obtained at a greater elevation above the sea
than I observed the Condor, their range in altitude appears to
be small. They were found at these high situations and nowhere
else, though the same species sometimes recurred at sijnilar eleva-
tions upon widely-separated mountains.

Few persons have concerned themselves, in any part of the
world, with entomology at great altitudes. Such remarks as have
been made upon it have generally had reference to the stray
individuals that are termed stragglers, which, generally being
wind-borne, and found upon the surface, are those which most
readily catch the eye. Thus Humboldt (who ignores^ what may
be termed the residential population) says, in Aspects of Nature,
vol. 2, pp. 33-4 : —

"Even butterflies are found at sea at great distances from the coast,
being carried there by the force of the wind when storms come off the
land. In the same involuntary manner insects are transported into the upper
regions of the atmospliere, 16,000 or 19,000 feet above the plains. The heated
crust of the earth occasions an ascending vertical current of air, by which

1 Some persons ma}- attach the same meaning to the expression vertical range.
I venture to think that term is not felicitous. Comparatively few things can be
said to have any vertical range, and many have none.

^ The Zoology of Humboldt and Bonpland's Voyage contains only about a dozen
species of insects for which localities in Ecuador are mentioned, and not one of
these appears to have come from a greater elevation than ten thousand feet.

114 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v.

light bodies are borne upwards. . . . When Bonpland, Carlos Montufar
and myself reached, on the 23rd of June, 1802, on the eastern declivity
of the Chimborazo the height of 19,286 English feet, we saw winged
insects fluttering around us. We could see that they were Dipteras, but
... it was impossible to catch the insects. . . . The insects were flying
at a height of about 18,225 feet. . . . Somewhat lower down, at about
2600 toises (16,680 feet), also therefore within the line of perpetual
snow, Bonpland had seen yellow butterflies flying very near the ground."

The aim and intention of this passage is to shew that insects
are transported invohmtarily to great altitudes, and this un-
questionably often occurs. Most persons who have travelled
in mountainous regions have found, at one or another time, in
very elevated situations (sometimes on snow or glacier), insects
which, from their known habits and habitats, cannot have domi-
ciled themselves on the spot ; ^ and their actual transportation
in quantities, in ascending currents of air, has occasionally been
witnessed. But it would be erroneous to assume that insect-life
in the neighbourhood of tiie snow-line in Equatorial America is
limited to stragglers, or that they form a considerable percentage
of it. The upper zones of the Great Andes have a residential
population,^ and I shall endeavour to shew, at a later point,
that the '^yellow butterfly,^ which Humboldt uses to give point
to his remarks, probably comes within the category of ' perma-
nent residents ' ; and, if it does, it is not a happy example of a
wind-borne straggler.

At first, the dimensions of the great basin of Machachi were
underrated or unappreciated. Objects which were supposed to be
a mile distant sometimes proved to .be two or three miles away.
Woods looked like clumps of bushes, and impassable ravines
appeared mere ditches. When we became better acquainted
with it, the bare, almost naked-looking j^lain was found to

^ Examples are given in Chapters VI., XIII., and XV.

^ In the Supp. App. there will be found 98 species of insects which were
taken at 10,000 feet and upwards. Of these, 15 are known, 71 are new to science,
and 12 are not identified.

CHAP. V. A ZOOLOGIST'S PARADISE. 115

contain unsuspected dells and nooks decorated with ferns/ and
hidden lanes, wandering in concealed quehradas, gay with Salvias,
Fuchsias, and Verbenas/ giving shelter to a countless population,
varied in habits, different in natures, whose range was determined
by light and shade, heat and cold, moisture and vegetation —
many timid and shrinking from observation, seldom straying
far from the spots that were home or habitation, where they
must be sought to be found.

Pumas and deer ranged over the high, rugged ground ;
foxes, weasels, and opossums dwelt on the lower slopes ; and
down in the basin there was a Zoologist's paradise. Butterflies
above, below, and around ; ^ now here, now there, by many
turns and twists displaying the brilliant tesselation of their
under-sides. Some congregated in clusters on the banks of
streams or in muddy places, while others sailed in companies
over the open plain. Mayflies and Dragonflies danced in the
sunlight ; lizards * darted across the paths ; and legions of spiders

1 Aspleniicm Trichomanes, L. ; Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh. ; Polypodium athyri-
oides, Hook, (abundant) ; F. angustifolium, Sw. ; P. lucidum, Bory ; P. rnurorum,
Hook. ; and P. plebejum, Schlecht.

2 The following were some of the more common plants in the hedges and
ditches: — Lepidium Humholdtii, DC; Cassia tomentosa, L. ; Rubus sp. ; Fuchsia
petiolaris, Kth. ; Chvquiragua lancifolia, H.B.K. ; Palea Mutisii, H.B.K. ; Solanum
ochrop/iyllum, Van Heurck ? ; Alonsoa caulialaia, R. & P. ; Salvia vermicifolia,
H.B.K. ; Stachys elliptical H.B.K, ; Verbena prostrata, Br. ; Bmiarea Caldasiana,
Herb. ; and Cyperus melanostachyns, H. & K. A very queer flowering-plant, resem-
bling a mushroom, was also abundant at Machachi. It has been described in the
Journal of Botany, June 1890, by Mr. E. G. Baker, who says, " in its floral characters
it resembles Helosis, and in its rhizome Corynma; it is therefore interesting as form-
ing a connecting link between these two genera. This will make the third species
of Helosis, the others being i/. Gityanensis, Rich., and B. Mexicana, Lieb."

3 We obtained a Steroma ; three species of Pedaliodes ; Lymanopoda I'oena, Hew. ;
L. tener. Hew. ; Agraidis glycera, Feld. ; Pyrameis huntera (Fabr.) ; P. carye
(Hiibn.); Junonia vellida (Fabr.); Lyccena A:od, Druce ; L. Andicola, n.sp. ; *Peris
xanthodice, Lucas ; P. suadella, Feld. ; Colia<i lesbia (Fabr.) ; * C. dirnera, Doubl. &
Hew, ; Papilio Americus, Kollar; Pamphila phylceus (Drury) ; and an Ancyloxypha.
Those marked with an asterisk were very numerous.

4 Liocephaliis trachycephahcs (A. Dum.).

116 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. v.

pervaded the grass, many very beautiful — frosted-silver backs,
or curious, like the saltigrades, who took a few steps and then
gave a leap. There were crickets in infinite numbers ; and
flies innumerable, from slim daddy-long-legs to ponderous, black,
hairy fellows known to science as Dejeanice ; hymenopterous
insects in profusion, including our old friend the Bishop of
Ambato, in company with another formidable stinger, with chrome
antennae, called by the natives ' the Devil ' ; and occasional
Phasmas (caballo de palo) crawling painfully about, like animated
twigs. ^

In the early morning it was generally fine, though seldom
clear. The weather always degenerated as day advanced, and at
noon the sun was scarcely ever seen. Soon afterwards gathering
clouds proclaimed a coming storm. When the thunder-echoes
ceased to roll between Corazon and Ruminahui, Jean-Antoine
and I used to turn out for our walks in the lanes of Machachi.
The short equatorial day was nearly over. The hum of the bee
and the chirping of the cricket had ceased, and the toilers in
the fields had already retired. We met no one, and there were
no sounds (except perhaps the distant notes of a reed-pipe
played by some Indian lad wending his way homewards) until
the frogs ^ began their music ; and when this presently died away,

1 The following Beetles, first obtained at Machachi, are described in the Supp.
App., pp. 8-65 : — Anisotay'sus Bradyto'ides, Felmatellua variipes, P. oxynodes,
Pterostichus liodes, Colpodes alticola, Uroxys latesulcatus, Clavipalpus Whymperi,
Barotheus Andinus, ^ Baryxenux cequatorius, and Eurysthea angusticollis, by Mr,
H. W, Bates ; Philonthus Whymperi, * P. dwisus, Meloe sexguttatus, and Ananca
debilu, by Dr. D. Sharp ; Astylus Ms- sexguttatus (the most widely distributed
beetle in the interior of Ecuador, found almost everywhere between 9000 and
13,500 feet) by the Kev. H. S. Gorham ; and ^ Naupactus seguipes by Mr. A. S.
Olliff. Those marked by an asterisk were only found at Machachi. The rest
were subsequently obtained elsewhere, at similar, or at slightly higher and lower
elevations.

2 Phryniscus hevis, Gthr. ; Hylodes unistrigatus, Gthr. ; and Nototrema mar-
supiatum (Dum. & Bibr.). The Hylodes (so-called ' tree-frogs ') were taken on the
ground.

CHAP. V. WALKS IN THE LANES OF MACIIACIIL 117

an almost perfect stillness reigned — the air was scarcely dis-
turbed by the noiseless flight of the gigantic moths, and the
gentle twittering of the little birds making snug for their long
night.

Our rooms became a museum, and sometimes almost a mena-
gerie. Aided by a troop of willing helpers, never a day passed
without acquiring things that had not been seen before ; ^ for

"The Almighty Maker has throughout
Discriminated each from each, by strokes
And touches of his hand, with so much art
Diversified, that two were never found
Twins at all points."

In these pursuits I was much assisted by the tambo-keeper,
who interested himself in furthering our work. He introduced
me to Cyclopium cyclopuni, the only fish in the interior — a high-
bred fish, with a string of names that a Duke might envy ; ^ and
was the means of procuring the first Ampliipod collected in
Ecuador. '' Senor Antonio, ^^ I said to him one day, " Mr. James
Orton, M.A., Professor of Natural History in Vassar College,
New York, observes ^ that the only crustacean found in the
interior ' is a small cray-fish abounding in the filthy, stagnant
waters about Quito. ^ Now couldn^t you raise a crab or a shrimp,
or something of that kind, for it is very sad to think that there
are no crustaceans in Ecuador." The good man did not know
whether I was speaking in jest or in earnest, so I set to work
with my pencil to enlighten him, and invented forms which it

1 One afternoon we made an excursion to a ^a«.eci?Zo on Corazon, and b^at the
bushes into an old umbrella. So far as they are determined, everything obtained
was new. The following species are included in the Supplementary Appendix.
Coleoptera : — Cercometes Andicola, Olliff (p. 58) ; Fandeletius argentatus, Olliflf
(p. 62) ; Aphthona Ecuadoriensis^ Jacoby (p. 85) ; and Biholia viridh, Jacoby
(p. 86). Khynchota : — Margus tibialis, ffarmostes Corazonus, H. montivagus,
Diomjza variegata, and Lygus excelsus (pp. 113-4). Most of these species were
obtained only at this locality.

2 See iSiqop. Ax)p., pp. 137-9. 3 In The American Naturalist, 1872, p. 650.

118 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. v.

would be difficult to assign to any existing genera. Antonio
Eacines still looked perplexed, as well he might ; but at last his
face brightened, and he held up a forefinger^ and beckoned. '^Come
with me.^^ He led me to a little ditch about half a mile outside
the village, with stagnant water, and amongst the weeds I got
my first crustacean, which has been identified by the Eev. T. E. E.
Stebbing as Hyalella inermis, S. I. Smith. ^

Thus the time passed quickly and pleasantly. Still, it must
not be supposed that our lives were always as sweet as rose-
water, for trouble sometimes arose through the want of that con-
venient, universal language which it is expected will prevail when
the lion lies down with the lamb. Ecuadorians have their habits
and customs, many of which we did not understand — nor did
they understand ours. At Machachi it was customary for the
natives to keep mongrel curs as guardians of their property ;
and these brutes, though somewhat respectful to cavaliers, looked
upon a pedestrian as, presumably, a person of bad character,
and did not understand that a man may wish to pluck a flower
without desiring to steal a poncho.

The first time I took a solitary walk in the lanes of Machachi
it was dark before I rejoined the main road ; and upon entering
the suburb that stretches a mile to the south of the tambo
several of these curs rushed out and made for me. Others
joined them, until at last there were about a dozen, from the
size of a fox-hound downwards, snarling and snapping and making
dashes at my shins and calves in a most uncivilized manner,
and they got to the length of fastening on my clothes like hungry
wolves. Upon remonstrating the next day with some of their
owners at this rude treatment I was assured that it was quite
a mistake to call the dogs savage — they were very good dogs,
indeed (and this was said by way of commendation), their virtues
were so well known that when any person in the neighbourhood
was in want of a dog he would come to Machachi to steal one.

1 A figure is given in Chapter XIX. See also Siqip. App., pp. 125-7.

CHAP. V.

THE DOGS OF MACHACHL

119

For the future I went about armed with a bludgeon, as these
guardians seemed quite capable of eating one up. If this had
occurred^ and their masters had been brought before a Jefo-
politico, the defence would have been substantially the same as
that which was made by a gentleman, living in a Midland county,
whose two Pyrenean mastiffs, on meeting a curate riding on horse-
back, hunted him and pulled him down. Their owner assured
the Bench that they were the gentlest creatures alive, but they
were unaccustomed to see curates riding on horseback, and
thought it was improper. The Machachi men would have said,
^^ It is certainly to be deplored that there is nothing left of the
Doctor except the buckles of his braces, but this is not the fault
of the dogs, who are the best dogs in the World. The fact is,
the Senor would go on foot, he would not ride on horseback,
and the dogs did not understand it '' ; and there is no doubt that
the defence would have been considered a good one.

INDIAN REED-PIPES.

SNOW-CORNICES.

CHAPTER VI.

ON" COTOPAXI AND ILLINIZA.

When I was detained, a very unwilling guest, in the inn at
Chuquipoquio, kept by the possible Marquis, a project entered
my head from the execution of which I promised myself some
compensation for being obliged to quit Chimborazo prematurely.
My vexation had been keen at being compelled to retreat from
that mountain after so much labour had been expended in
establishing our lofty camps ; and although this was lessened
when I learned the real cause of the defection of my assistants,
and anger gave place to pity for the unfortunate sufferer, it
did not alter the fact that we left before our work was finished,
and that it was interrupted at an interesting point.

We had learned on Chimborazo that mountain-sickness was
a reality. Although the more acute symptoms had disappeared,
whilst remaining at low pressures, it was not certain that they
would not reappear ; still less that they would not recur if we
remained continuously at a yet lower pressure than we had

CHAP. VI. THE PROJECT. 121

experienced at the third camp, namely, about 16 inches. To
settle this matter, so far as it could be done in Ecuador, I had
intended to ascend Chimborazo again, perhaps several times, and
had even projected a residence on the snow plateau at its
summit. This now could not be done. The stores and baggage
which had cost so much time and trouble to take up had all
been brought down again, the camps were broken up, and the
information which was desired could only be obtained by begin-
ning afresh in some other quarter.

All the other Great Andes of the Equator were believed to
be lower than Chimborazo, and consequently we were not likely
to add materially to what we had already learned concerning
the effects of diminished atmospheric pressure by simple ascents
and descents of them. Moreover, two of the loftiest — Antisana
and Cayambe — were as yet unclimbed, and, even should we
get up them, it was probable that we should be unable to
remain on their summits. So my thoughts naturally turned
to the great volcano Cotopaxi. It was reported that there was
a large slope of ash at the apex of its terminal cone, and I
proposed to encamp upon it, close to the top of the mountain.
If this could be done, and if we should find that we could
remain at this height (19,500 feet) for a length of time without
suffering inconvenience from the low reigning pressure, it would
substantially advance our information, and would give good
grounds for hope that one might carry exploration elsewhere
as high as 24,000 or 25,000 feet above the level of the sea ;
though it would still leave in uncertainty the possibility of
attaining the very highest summits in the world. It is idle to
suppose that men will ever reach the loftiest points on the
globe, unless they are able to camp out at considerably greater
elevations than twenty thousand feet.

The chance of having a nocturnal view of the interior of
the crater, though a secondary, was a powerful attraction.
Those who had hitherto ascended Cotopaxi had remained a very

122 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

short time on the top, and had only obtained fragmentary
views of the crater, and had given rather divergent accounts of
it. .Opportunities do not often occur of looking by night into
the bowels of a first-rate, active volcano, and the idea of camp-
ing upon the apex of the cone grew upon me, the more I
thought about it. By doing so, I proposed to kill two birds
with one stone. The project could not be executed without the
active co-operation of both the Carrels, and it was useless to
mention it so long as the frost-bitten feet of Louis remained
unhealed.

I therefore kept the scheme to myself until the times
appeared favourable ; and when Louis began to mend, and
there was a prospect of his being able to get to work again,
I broached the matter diplomatically and circuitously ; and,
concealing my principal motive, harped upon the secondary
ones ; spoke of the famous eruptions of Cotopaxi, referred to
the discrepancies in the determinations of its height, to the
uncertainty of the nature of its crater, the delights of being
warm in camp, and the opportunity of having a peep into the
subterranean world, and contrasted the dicta of various eminent
authorities to shew how little volcanic knowledge had advanced,
and spoke long without effect. At last, my Chief of the Staff
said one day, in his own peculiar idiom', " You have raised
within me a great desire to look into this animal," and I knew
then that the matter was as good as settled, for the younger
man seldom opposed the wishes of his imperious cousin.

When the gashes in the frost-bitten feet of Louis began to
heal, and he could hobble about, preparations for our adventure
were set agoing. To lessen risks, I divided the instruments ;
we studied economical methods of cooking ; added to our wraps,
and rehearsed generally ; and then we recrossed the TiupuUo
ridge ' to the farm of Eosario, to get a profile view of the mount-

1 Stopj)ed for a time at the tambo of S. Ana, and inquired of the man who
kept it if he had ever known stones thrown out by Cotopaxi as far as his place,

CHAP. VI. COTOPAXL 123

ain. At daybreak on the morning following our arrival (Feb. 8),
the imposing mass of Cotopaxi became visible. The atmosphere
of smoke and haze which is always hanging about it subdued
its details without concealing its general contour^ and produced
an effect of stupendous size and enormous height. A large
quantity of steam issuing from the crater was first of all borne
towards us, then, as shewn in the engraving, was drifted to the
south-west, and finally was carried northwards.

The farm of Eosario is nearly due west of Cotopaxi, distant
about eighteen and a half miles, and its position is sufficiently
elevated (10,356 feet) to enable one to judge the proportions of
the mountain. I found that the general angles of the northern
and southern slopes of the cone were rather less than 30°, and
a week later, when due north of it, I. observed that the eastern
and western sides, though somewhat steeper, scarcely exceeded
32°.^ These moderate angles confirmed the impression that this
ascent could be made with facility, and that such troubles as
might arise would be more due to too much wind, or to ivant
of wind, and to the labour incident upon carrying a quantity
of material to a great elevation, than to the nature of the
ground which w^e should traverse.

Cotopaxi is an ideal volcano. It comports itself, volcanically
speaking, in a regular and well-behaved manner. It is not one
of the provoking sort — exploding in paroxysms and going to
sleep directly afterwards. It is in a state of perpetual activity,
and has been so ever since it has had a place in history.
There are loftier mountains which have been volcanoes, and
there are active volcanoes with larger craters, yielding greater
quantities of lava, but the summit of Cotopaxi, so far as is

and he said he had. Asked as to the size of the largest, he picked up one
about three inches in diameter.

^ They have been stated by others to be 40° and upwards. In the view of
Cotopaxi given in Humboldt's Vues dans les Cordilleres, its northern and southern
slopes are represented rising at an angle of 50°. This very misleading view has
been copied into many other works.

124 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

known, has the greatest absohite elevation above the level of
the sea of all volcanoes that are in working order.

It is situated about forty-three geographical miles south of
the Equator and thirty geographical miles south-east of Quito.
In the accompanying view from the farm of Eosario the summit
of the mountain has an elevation of 9300 feet above the spec-
tator, and between the edge of the plain in the middle distance
and the foot of the cone there is a depression, occupied by the
bed of the Eiver Cutuchi. This river takes its rise at the
western foot of Cotopaxi. The head waters of the Cutuchi are
divided from the streams flowing to the north by a plain called
Limpiopongo, the highest point of which is behind, and a little
to the left, of the domed hill (Callo) shewn in the engraving.
All the streams that descend from the northern side of Coto-
paxi go to form the River Pita, which, after getting clear of the
mountain Sincholagua, enters the basin of Chillo, and ultimately
falls into the River Esmeraldas, and so into the Pacific Ocean.
The streams which rise on the eastern side of Cotopaxi flow
through unexplored country, but there is good reason for suppos-
ing that they fall into the River Napo. It is of little conse-
quence what may happen in that direction. The Cutuchi and
Pita, however, and the rivers into which they fall, traverse the
heart of Ecuador, and all places that they pass are more or less
unsafe, according to their levels, and their positions in relation
to the rivers. Some of the more proximate places to Cotopaxi
are in no hazard from its eruptions, whilst others, at much
greater distances, are in constant danger from them. Thus,
while the village of Machachi is secure, the town of Latacunga
is in imminent peril. The nearest house to the crater — the
tambo of S. Ana — is safe, though many buildings in the basin
of Chillo ^ were erased by the floods which poured down at the
last great eruption. This took place on June 26, 1877 ; and, as

^The basin of Chillo lies to the north of the mountain Sincholagua. The
village is not marked on my map, as I was unable to fix its position.

illllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllillllillllllllllilM^

wiiiiiiiimfmMmik

CHAP. VI. ERUPTIONS OF COTOPAXI IN 1877. 125

it is the best recorded one that has occurred, I propose to refer
to it before proceeding with my narrative.

In the earlier part of 1877 a rather unusual degree of
activity was manifested by Cotopaxi, and columns of smoke
(composed of fine dust, which is commonly termed volcanic ash)
rose sometimes a thousand feet above the cone, and at night the
steam and smoke that issued was brilliantly illuminated by
flames or incandescent matter within the crater. The dust was
carried in this or that direction according to the prevailing
winds, and much fell at Machachi and its neighbourhood.^ No
alarm seems to have been caused until June 25, when, soon
after mid-day, an immense black column was projected about
twice the height of the cone (say, 18,000 feet) in the air, and
was accompanied by tremendous subterranean bellowing. This
eruption was clearly seen from Quito and Latacunga, as the
wind blew the ash towards the Pacific, and left the view of the
mountain from north and south unobscured.^ The summit
glowed at night, but next morning its appearance was normal
until 6.30 a.m., when another enormous column rose from the
crater. This time the ejected matter first drifted due north,
spreading out to the north-west and north-east, and subse-
quently was diffused by other winds all over the country. In
Quito it began to be dusk about 8 a.m., and the darkness
increased in intensity until mid-day, when it was like night.
One man informed me that he wished to return home, but
could not perceive his own door^ when immediately opposite to

^ Shewing a prevalence of south-east winds.

2 The first intelligence of this eruption reached Europe through the ejected
matter falling upon steamers passing between Panama and Guayaquil, at a dis-
tance of nearly two hundred miles from the mountain.

^ The darkness was caused by the prodigious quantity of dust that was float-
ing in the atmosphere. I found at Quito a person who had had the sagacity to
spread out a sheet of paper to receive the particles as they settled, and I secured
this collection. Some are as large as "007 to "008 of an inch in diameter,
though many are much smaller. This dust has been described by Prof. Bonuey
in the Proceedinga of the Royal Society, June, 1884.

126 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

it, and another said he could not see his hand when it was
held close to his face.

At daybreak, on the 26th, the mountain could be clearly
seen from places to the south of it, as the ash was blown north-
wards, and the eruption does not appear to have excited any
particular alarm, or even attention.* Some inhabitants of Mulalo,
however, were looking at the summit at 10 a.m., and all at once
saw molten lava pouring through the gaps and notches in the
lip of the * crater, bubbling and smoking, so they described it,
like the froth of a pot that suddenly boils over. The scene
which then ensued upon the mountain was shut out from mortal
eyes, for in a few minutes the whole of it was enveloped in
smoke and steam, and became invisible ; but out of the darkness
a moaning noise arose, which grew' into a roar, and a deluge of
water, blocks of ice, mud and rock rushed down, sweeping away
everything that lay in its course, and leaving a desert in its
rear. It is estimated that it travelled as far as Latacunga at
the rate of fifty miles an hour — and this is not impossible.^

The scene upon the cone in the moments following the out-
pouring of the lava through the jagged rim ^ of the crater must
have surpassed anything that has been witnessed by man.
Molten rock filled the crater to overflowing. Its rise was sudden,
and its fall, perhaps, was equally abrupt. One may well pause
to wonder at the power which could raise the quantity sufficient

1 It must be remembered that the people living in its vicinity are accustomed
to see it smoking and blowing off steam. The ejection of a column of ash to
several times the ordinary height would not be enough to attract special attention.

2 In three hours after passing Mulalo it destroyed a bridge at the foot of
Tunguragua. The distance between these places is forty-five miles, or probably
sixty miles following the windings of the rivers. This would give a mean rate
of about twenty miles per hour. The flood going northwards reached Esmeraldas
at 4 a.m. on the 27th. In a direct line that town is about one hundred and fifty
miles from the crater, but it is more than double the distance by the circuitous
route which was taken. This gives a mean rate of about seventeen miles per hour.

3 This passage will be better understood by reference to the two views of
exterior and interior portions of the crater that accompany Chapter VII.

CHAP. VI. EFFECTS OF THE ERUPTIONS. 127

to fill this vast arena, nineteen thousand feet above the level of
the sea, even for a moment/ The weight must be reckoned by
hundreds of millions of tons — its heat at thousands of degrees
Fahrenheit, and when it emerged through the depressions of the
rim, and fell in streams or cascades upon the surrounding slopes
of snow, ice, and glacier, much of it must instantly have been
blown into the air by sudden evolution of steam, and falling
again upon the cone bounded downwards in furious leaps, plough-
ing up the mountain like cannon-shot. Portions of the glaciers,
uncemented from their attachments by the enormous augmenta-
tion of heat, slipped away bodily, and, partly rolling, partly
borne by the growing floods, arrived at the bottom a mass of
shattered blocks.^

The flood which ultimately proceeded towards the south at
first rushed away from Cotopaxi across the bed of the River
Cutuchi up to the bend that the new road makes near Callo ; and
then, deflected by the rising ground, it turned towards Latacunga,
rooted up the road, and swept away arrieros with their teams
and everything upon it, erased houses, farms and factories, and
destroyed every bridge in its course. When I passed this way,
I found the country a wilderness.^

Many eruptions have occurred of this description, and upon

1 The observation of the natives of Mulalo tliat it bubbled over suddenly in
a number of places at once, and the immediate irruption of the floods in all
directions are strong evidence. The opinion that the lava retreated as rapidly as
it rose is entertained because the flood ceased in an hour or less, and a large
quantity of ice near the summit remained unmelted.

2 According to Dr. T. Wolf blocks of ice were carried eight to ten leagues from
the mountain, and some of them remained for months after the eruption upon the
plain of Latacunga, and left, as they melted, hillocks of rubbish three or four feet
high, and several yards in diameter.

^ The flood which went north, though equally formidable, did less damage to
property. For a number of miles it traversed uninhabited country. The principal
loss on this side was caused by the obliteration of the cotton factories at Chillo
belonging to the Aguirre family. I was told by one of their workmen that some
of the machinery was transported thirty miles, down into the ravine of Guallabamba.
Messrs. Aguirre have now put up other mills on higher ground.

128

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

some occasions the mountain has belched forth flame as well as
ashes. Several persons whom I examined on this point seemed
to be able to discriminate between the appearance of lire-lit clouds

COTOPAXI IN ERUPTION IN 1743.

and of actual flame, and positively affirmed tliat they had seen
flames rise above the lip of the crater, though not to a great
height. La Condamine, in his Journal du Voyage, relates that
in 1743-4 flames rose at least two thousand feet above the top
of the mountain, and his associates Juan and Ulloa, in their

CHAP. VI. FIRST ASCENT OF COTOPAXI. 129

Voyage Mstorique, give the quaint picture which I reproduce
herewith.

There need be little wonder that there are so few exact ac-
counts of the great eruptions of Cotopaxi. No one lives in close
contiguity to the vent which is the natural channel of escape
for the imprisoned and compressed gases that work the mischief,
and thus the earlier admonitions of approaching eruptions often
pass unnoticed ; and when the mightier ones commence, every
person within sight or hearing, knowing too well either from ex-
perience or from tradition the results which are likely to ensue,
concerns himself more in safeguarding life and property than in
philosophical considerations of the forces of nature.

Ecuadorians have left the investigation of their great volcano
to strangers. A century and a half ago, La Condamine proposed
to attempt its ascent, but had to abandon his project because no
one would accompany him. Humboldt, at the beginning of the
century, after entertaining the same idea, finally came to the
conclusion that it was impossible to reach the brink of the crater.
So far as I am aware, the first person to reach the summit was
Dr. W. Eeiss, of Berlin, on Nov. 27, 1872.' Starting from the
village of Mulalo, with ten natives, he appears first to have trav-
elled about north-east, and subsequently east-north-east. The
same route was taken by Dr. A. Stlibel, of Dresden, in March,
1873 ; ^ and, in September, 1877, the summit was reached by Dr.
T. Wolf, a Jesuit long resident in Ecuador, who started from the
same direction as the others,^ but adopted a more northerly line
of ascent, in consequence of finding that the route they had taken
on the actual cone had been rendered impassable by the eruption

^ See Nature, April 10, 1873. I was informed in Ecuador that an ascent had
been made by a native of Latacunga, before Dr. Reiss, but I was unable to obtain
any evidence that such had been the case.

2 An account in Spanish was published at Quito by Dr. Stiibel in the form of
a letter to the President of the Republic of Ecuador (see note, p. 96), and also
appeared in French in the Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie, Paris, 1874.

3 An account was published by him in Spanish, at Guayaquil.

130 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

of June 27. Lastly, in January, 1878, the summit was gained
by Freiherr Max von Thielmann, who, starting from Machachi,
passed through the hamlet of Pedregal to the mountain by the
route shewn in dotted line upon my map, and completed the
ascent by the same way as Dr. Wolf.^

The accounts of these gentlemen agree in general very well ;
though none of them saw to the bottom of the crater, and they
differed amongst each other as to the height of the mountain and
several matters of detail. By remaining a greater length of time
in the field I hoped to clear up, or at least to bring more into
harmony, various discrepancies ; and in going to the mountain I
proposed to follow the line taken by Von Thielmann, for, from
a description which he was good enough to give me personally, it
appeared to be more desirable than the way by Mulalo.

I brought a letter of introduction to the proprietor of the farm,
and was received very courteously.^ His house was the nearest
one to Illiniza, and we came to it hoping to combine an ascent
of that mountain with our inspection of Ootoioaxi. No informa-
tion in regard to Illiniza is in print, and this is not a matter for
surprise, as it is almost perpetually shrouded in mist. Persons
living in its neighbourhood say that it is seldom or never perfectly
clear. At one or another time we were seventy-eight days in its
vicinity, yet we did not see the whole of the mountain on any
single occasion.^ Only partial views were .obtained, lasting a few

^ See the Alpine Journal, Aug., 1878, pp. 45-47.

"^ There was the same uncleanliaess about this hacienda that was remarlved in
most other places. My apartment had the appearance of not having been cleaned
or even swept since the building was erected. The whole ceiling was covered with
a dense black mass of house-flies clustered over one another to the depth of perhaps
half an inch. I could not have imagined that sucli a spectacle was possible. There
were also tens of thousands on the upper part of the walls.

Feeling something hard under the pillow I loolced underneath, and found a
prayer-book, a revolver, and a guitar. This was apparently the bedroom of the
head of the establishment.

2 In May and June, Louis Carrel stopped for five weeks at Machachi, and in this
time only saw Illiniza twice.

CHAP. VI. ILLINIZA. 131

minutes, and usually it was completely invisible. It happened
that shortly before sunset on Feb. 7 a strong north-west wind
set in and cleared the summit of clouds, and from this casual
glance an ascent appeared to be a certainty.

This mountain is probably seventh in rank of the Great Andes
of the Equator. It is slightly inferior in elevation to Sangai and
is loftier than Carihuairazo. It has two peaks, or rather it is
composed of two mountains that are grouped together, the more
northern of which is the lower, and is called Little Illiniza.^ The
summits of both are sharp, and during the time of our stay in
Ecuador they were completely covered by snow. The proprietor
of the hacienda could give us no information as to the nature of
the country to their west, and it is probable that for some dis-
tance, at least, it has never been seen by human eye. He was,
however, well acquainted with the lower slopes of the mountain
on the eastern side, and said that his people would be able to
conduct us to a considerable height.

Upon leaving the hacienda on Feb. 8, under local guidance,
our route was nearly north for four miles, partly over cultivated
ground, rising gently most of the way ; and it then turned
sharply to the west, up a long spur thrown out from the main
southern ridge of the mountain. The course up the spur was
about N.W. by W. until we had reached the height of 14,700
feet, and then our local guides came to the end of their know-
ledge and our animals struck work. There were nine of them,
and eight persons to drive, yet there was more difficulty in
making them advance than on Ohimborazo when moving from
the first to the second camp.^ As usual, none of their loads

' They have been measured by Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel, who assign the heights
17,405 and 16,936 feet to them respectively. I think there is a greater difference
in their elevation, and (for the reason stated in Chapter XVI.) that Little Illiniza
is not so high as 16,936 feet.

^ This probably arose from other causes besides diminution in pressure. The
ground was steeper, and they had traversed a greater distance than on the other
occasion.

133 TRA VELS A3I0NGST THE GREA T ANDES, chap. yi.

exceeded 160 lbs. We pushed on for a few hundred feet
higher^ up steep slopes of volcanic sand^ having a very vague
idea of the situation of the summit^ as we had been in clouds
nearly all the day ; and, upon arriving at some sufficiently flat
ground, encamped at 15,207 feet, with sleet falling thickly. All
the people (except the Carrels), along with the animals, were
then sent back to the farm.

In course of time it was found that we had got close to the
southern edge of a glacier on the eastern side of the peak, and
that the upper 2200 feet or thereabouts of the mountain was
composed of a large wall (which is possibly nothing more than
a dyke), of no great thickness from east to west ; having two
principal ridges, — one descending from the summit towards the
south-south-west, and the other north-north-east. The face
fronting the east was almost entirely covered by glacier right
up to the summit, and there was also a glacier, or more than
one, on the western side.

Jean-Antoine and I started soon after daybreak on Feb. 9,^
and made good progress over the glacier so long as it was at a
moderate inclination ; but in the course of an hour we found
ourselves driven over to the western side of the mountain, and
shortly afterwards were completely stopped in that direction by
immense seracs. We then doubled back to the main ridge, and
reached the crest of it, at a somewhat greater height than 16,000
feet, up some very steep gullies filled with snow. The huge
seracs looming through the mist above us on the western side
shewed clean walls of ice which I estimated were 200 feet high,
lurching forwards as if ready to fall, separated by crevasses not
less than twenty to twenty-five feet across. Nothing could be
done on that side. The ridge was steep and broken ; its rocks
were much decomposed, externally of a chalky-white appearance,
pervaded with veins and patches of lilacs and purples, and inter-

1 Leaving Louis in charge of the camp. He came by his own desire, though
still unable to walk.

CHAP. VI. TUFTED SNOW-CORNICES, 133

spersed with numerous snow-beds overhanging one or the other
side in cornices. The thickness of the mists hindered progress,
and shortly before mid-day (being then about 17,000 feet above
the sea) we were brought to a halt. The clouds drifted away
for a few minutes, and we saw that although we might advance
perhaps two hundred feet higher we should not be able to reach
the summit.^

Two glaciers have their origin on the upper part of the
southern ridge of Illiniza. That which goes westwards, almost
from its commencement, is prodigiously steep, and is broken up
into the cubical masses termed seracs. The other glacier, de-
scending towards the east, though steep, is less torrential. The
two were united on the crest of our ridge, and over some cleft
in it there was a sheer, vertical wall of glacier-ice perhaps a
hundred feet high. We could see no way of turning it, and
there appeared no possibility of getting higher upon this side
except by tunnelling. But if we had passed this obstacle we
should not have reached the top of the mountain, for its extreme
summit was garnished with a cornice of a novel and very
embarrassing description.

In the illustration at the head of this chapter two types of
snow-cornices are represented. That on the right of the engrav-
ing is common upon the crests of ridges near the summits of many
Alpine peaks, and in other high ranges, including the Andes. The
one upon the left I have seen only amongst the Great Andes of
the Equator, and for the first time on the summit of Illiniza. We
observed them again upon the lower peaks of Antisana, Cayambe,
Cotocachi and elsewhere. The formation of snow-cornices of the
more usual type is due to drift of the snow, and the icicles under-
neath them to the subsequent action of the sun ; and the process
of their manufacture, upon a small scale, can be observed upon
the ridges of roofs during any severe snowstorm. The other type

1 The top was seen onl}? during these few minutes, and tlien became invisible
until we left the mountain.

134 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vi.

— the tufted cornice — is probably due to variability of winds,
and the fringe of pendent icicles, all round, to the influence of
a nearly vertical sun at noon. AYith the exception of Illiniza,
they were not found at the very highest points of the mountains
which have been mentioned, and we thanked our stars that it
was not necessary to have dealings with them.

We descended eighty feet to read the barometer ; made our
way down the eastern face, and became mist-bewildered on the
glacier near the camp. Our shouts were heard by Louis, who
pluckily hobbled out some distance to guide us, and we then
packed up, and awaited the return of our followers. They arrived
at 4.30 p.m., and we quitted a mountain upon which, I do not
attempt to disguise, we were fairly beaten.-'

Our experiences upon Corazon and Illiniza began to open our
eyes regarding weather at great elevations in Ecuador. Hitherto
we had seen little of vertical suns, and regarded ourselves as the
victims of circumstances, and looked daily for the setting in of
a period of cloudless skies, with something like tropical warmth.
On Illiniza we enjoyed thunderstorms, snow and hailstorms, sleet,
drizzle and drenching showers, and scarcely saw the sun at all.^

^ Started from the hacienda on Feb. 8 at 9.35 a.m., and arrived at camp 4 p.m.
Left camp with Jean-Antoine at 6.30 a.m. on Feb. 9, and in five minutes took to
the glacier. Reached highest point attained at 11.45, and got back to camp 3,45
p.m. Left camp 5 p.m., and arrived about 8.50 at the hacienda. Temperature
in the shade was 36° Faht. at 5.45 a.m. at our camp, and 49'5 at mid-day, when
17,000 feet above the level of the sea.

2 The conditions upon Illiniza were unfavourable for collecting. Out of the
snow sludge around our camp I obtained only three mosses {Racomitrium crispi-
pilum, Jaeg., Splachnobryum Spruceanurn, CM., and a Webera), and a short dis-
tance below our highest point found two others (Breutelia suba7-cuata, Schimp., and
Didymodon acutifolius, Jaeg.).

At 16,500 feet, whilst descending, I captured a small bug, which has been
referred by Mr. Distant to the genus Um6sa {Supp. App., p. 117). Though alive,
it was evidently a wind-borne straggler, but it is noteworthy on account of this
being the greatest elevation at which animal life was either obtained or observed.
Its habitat was perhaps in the woods on the Panecillo of Corazon (see p. 117).

CHAP. VI.

EQUABILITY OF THE WEATHER.

135

At Machachi we met Sen or Lopez, an engineer of the Ecuadorian
railway, who said that this weather was in no way exceptional,
and would be found alike over all the higher ground, in any
month. We resigned ourselves to the inevitable, and set to work
perfecting preparations for a journey to Cotopaxi.

AN ACADEMICIAN OBSERVING THE BAROMETER.
(after JUAN AND ULLOA.)

A BOMB FROM COTOPAXI.

CHAPTER VII.

THE ASCENT OF COTOPAXI, AND A NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT.

AVe started from Machachi for Cotopaxi on February 14. The
party consisted of Jean-Antoine and Louis, Mr. Perring, six
natives of Machachi as porters^ nine mules and three arrieros, and
a couple of sheep — a pair of ungraceful and graceless animals, who
displayed the utmost reluctance to go to the slaughter. They
squatted on their haunches and refused to move, and when at
last, after infinite persuasion, they were induced to get up, they
ran between our legs and tried to upset us.

It was our intention to travel direct to Cotopaxi, but a
violent storm drove us for refuge into Pedregal, a little hamlet
composed of a farm and a cluster of cottages, situated on open
ground, at the northern foot of Euminahui. The hacienda was
surrounded by the customary high wall, with a huge portal at the
entrance to the courtyard, and had a ruined chapel on the farther
side, in which we took up our quarters, by invitation. At dusk
the bells were tolled for prayer, and young and old, in twos and
threes, came over the moorland to hold a service of their own,
without the aid of priest.

In the morning of February 15 we pursued our way up the
valley of the Rio Pita, over gently undulating land, which became

CHAP. VII.

THE APPROACH TO COTOPAXI.

137

more and more sterile and desolate as we approached the mount-
ain, and presently entered on the plain of Limpiopongo, the
divide of the waters of the Pita and Ciituchi — a nearly level
expanse, several miles across. I found here, in great numbers,
a rather large beetle belonging to the same tribe as our cock-

V\A\

COTOPAXI FROM THE FIRST CAMI

chafer, of a species which proves to be new to science, and appears
to Mr. H. W. Bates so different from known forms as to warrant
the erection of a new genus {Leucopelma) for its reception.^ L.
alhescejis apparently tries to stand on its head. I saw multitudes
of them in this interesting position ; many more fallen on their
backs kicking about, unable to regain their feet ; and many others

' For description and figure see Supplementary Appendix, p. 30.

138 TRAVELS A3WNGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

lying dead upon their backs/ Both upon the plain and some dis-
tance up the cone I found another nearly allied beetle {PlatyccBlia
nigricauda), about an inch long, which also proves to be a new
species ; ^ but the Colpodes, that were so numerous at great heights
upon the other Andes of the Equator, and the snouted Chirculios,
which were found in many places close up to the snow-line, were
entirely absent here.^

Dotted over the plain and its surroundings, perched on the
tops of hillocks, or on slopes where they could not have been
transported by water, as far as four or five miles from the crater,
there were many rounded masses of scoriaceous lava, from a few
inches up to five or six feet in diameter, having the appearance
of bombs thrown out during eruptions.* The plain, however, was
not cut up, and appeared to have almost entirely escaped visita-
tion by the floods that careered down the cone in 1877. This, no
doubt, was due to the Yanasache lava ^ (the most prominent lava
stream on this side) dividing the floods, and sending them away
to the right and left. We steered for this lava, and, finding it
too rugged for our mules, passed round its base (13,455 feet), and
came to a valley filled with drifted ash, upon its farther or
southern side, leading directly towards the summit. Easy enough
to man, it proved very laborious ground for our team, and at

1 Though they were standing head downwards, closer inspection might have
shewn that they were emerging hindquarters first from the sandy soil. This beetle
moved very sluggishly, ^ i^upp^ App., p, 30.

3 Eighteen species of the genus Colpodes were obtained on the journey between
the heights of 13,000 and 15,800 feet, out of which sixteen species are new to science.
These are described by Mr. H. W. Bates in the Supplementary Appendix, pp. 13-22.

4 Our natives scouted this idea, though familiar with the fact that Cotopaxi
ejects myriads of fragments of smaller size, in such quantities as to turn day into
night. The same incredulity Avas exhibited by the tambo-keeper at Machachi, and
the man at S. Aiia. They had never known anything more than two or three
inches in diameter to be projected as far as their localities, and could not be got
to believe that larger masses might fall closer to the mountain.

6 I follow Von Thielmann in using this name. I did not hear it employed by
the natives.

CHAP. VII. FIRST CAMP ON COTOPAXI. 139

3.50 p.m., on arriving at a rude framework of poles at the height
of 15,130 feet, we decided to camp, and sent all our animals back
to Machachi — presently learning that we had unexpectedly hit
on the place where Von Thielmann had stopped, by discovering
a bottle containing his record.

It was not a very eligible locality, for two of the essentials
of a good camping-place — wood and water — were wanting ; and
one half of my forces went upwards in search of s7ioiv, whilst the
others descended two thousand feet in quest of scrub, leaving me
in charge of the camp, to act as cook, journalist, and cattle-tender.
One of the sheep had already been killed, and some of the choicest
cuts had been placed in our pots and kettles to be boiled, and I
promised my people that when they returned they should have
such a feed as would make up for days of semi -starvation. But
when they were gone I began to think that I had promised too
much, for the fire would not burn, and I had to lie flat on my
stomach and blow hard to keep it alight at all. And then snow
and hail began to fall, and I found my feet got uncomfortably
cold while my head was exceedingly hot, and just at this time
I heard a noise, and, looking up, perceived that the other sheep,
which had not been turned into mutton, had escaped from its
fastenings, and Avas hurrying down the slope. I gave chase and
caught it, and talked to it about the wickedness of attempting
to escape. The sheep certainly looked sheepish, but it would not
return upwards without much persuasion, and when we got up
again I found that the sheej) that liad been turned into mutton
had turned over into the volcanic ash, and had nearly put out
the fire. All the broth had descended among the ash, the fire
was nearly extinguished, and the meat itself w^as covered in a
most abominable way with a sort of gritty slime. Such nasty-
looking stuff it has never been my lot to see, before or since ;
and I almost blush to think of the devices which had to be em-
ployed to make it presentable. But alFs well that ends well ! I
came up to time, and my people were never the wiser, though

140 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

I did clean that meat with our blacking-brush, and wipe out the
pots with a pocket-handkerchief.

Our camp was pitched upon and was surrounded by matter
ejected from the volcano, to which the terms dust, sand, lapilli,
and ash are usually given. The finest particles are termed dusts,
coarser ones are called sand and lapilli. The term ash covers
all three expressions, and in this sense I have used it elsewhere.
It is, however, open to the double objection that it conveys no
exact idea of either the dimensions or quality of the particles,
and suggests a quite erroneous idea. In using the term ash (or
ashes) we generally mean the residue of something which has
perished by fire. Thus we speak of the ash of paper, tobacco,
or coal ; and, when this expression was first applied to matter
ejected by volcanoes, those who employed it were no doubt under
the impression that the particles which they so designated were
actually the residue of something which had been consumed by
fire. This idea would be fostered by the matter very commonly
being of an ashy colour.^ Close investigation of the materials shews
that there is scarcely anything (or nothing) of the nature of ash
amongst them. They are composed of rocky and mineral frag-
ments. The rocky ones are often angular chips of lava, while
felspar constitutes a large proportion of the glassy ones. Frag-
ments of scoria (scum of lava) are common, and magnetic particles
are always present in the Cotopaxi dusts.

It is a rather troublesome peculiarity of volcanic dust that
it will penetrate anywhere. The extreme fineness of the more

' A number of the volcanic dusts I collected in Ecuador have this appearance
when seen in hulk. Some incline towards slaty-grey, while others are of slightly
warmer hues. Under very moderate magnifying power it is, however, seen that the
particles are rather sharply divided into very light-coloured glassy fragments, and
very dark rocky ones. The ashy colour is produced by the admixture of the two
classes of atoms. Several of these Cotopaxi dusts have been examined microscop-
ically by Prof. T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., and are described by him in the Pro-
ceedings of the Royal Society^ June, 188-4. Those who are desirous of pursuing this
subject are referred to that paper.

CHAP. VII. VOLCANIC DUSTS. 141

minute particles permits it to get into places which might be
deemed inaccessible. It floats in the air, travels round corners,
and insinuates itself through cracks into sheltered places which
cannot be reached by objects falling directly from the heavens,
and when settled in them it is secure against disturbance by
wind. Whatever falls upon open ground, on the contrary, is
wafted hither and thither by the slightest breeze,^ and thus the
traces even of considerable eruptions are speedily confused with
previous ones.^ There was a good illustration of this in the im-
mediate vicinity of our camp. In all the cavernous recesses of
the scoria, and in other sheltered places, there was a thick
deposit of a dust of a very marked granular character, in appear-
ance, though not in constitution, quite unlike any other I
obtained.^ This had evidently, from the thickness of the deposit,
been ejected during a somewhat severe eruption, and must have
fallen everywhere. Though found in every hollow or protected
place, it could not be identified anywhere else. Yet this was a
rather coarse dust, the predominant particles weighing about two
thousand to a grain, and the largest ones measuring '04 of an inch

1 Upon this account, travelling in tiie interior of Ecuador during dry weather
is often exceedingly unpleasant. It is sometimes impossible to face the clouds of
dust which are raised. With myriads of sharp, glassy and rocky fragments con-
stantly drifting about, it is not surprising that eye complaints are common amongst
the natives.

^ This was the case with the dusts which were ejected during the great eruptions
of 1877. By general consent, they fell most heavily around Machachi ; and, accord-
ing to Antonio Kacines, covered everything to a depth of more than two inches,
and obliged the inhabitants to drive their animals elsewhere for food. At the
time of our stay, he could not point them out anywhere as a distinct stratum, as
they had been dispersed by wind, or turned over in the course of agriculture.

3 "A dust consisting of dark granules, mixed with light grey and reddish
specks. The materials are rather coarse, the granules ranging from about "01 to
•015 inch. The most abundant are minute lapilli of scoriaceous aspect, and dark
colour, almost black ; in less numbers are glassy whitish and reddish granules ; with
these occur fragments of felspar, augite, and hypersthene. Of the latter mineral
there was a fairly perfect crystal about -015 long. . . . The granular character
of the dust readily distinguishes it from other examples. "—Prof , T, G. Bonney.

142 TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

in diameter. The atoms of the finer dusts may not be so much
as a thousandth of an inch in diameter, or, as I shall relate in
Chapter XVIII., weigh one twenty-five-thousandth part of a grain.

The night of February 15-16 passed away without excite-
ment. There were occasional rumblings in the bowels of the
mountain, and a few noises of a sharper sort, which sounded like
slams of doors in an ordinary stone corridor. Snow fell for
several hours, and in the morning the tent and packing-cases
were laden with it, though it was rapidly disappearing on the
cone. We found this usually happened.^ Several inches of snow
fell every day, but it remained only a short time, notwithstand-
ing the temperature of the air, which was sometimes as low as
24° Faht. The warmth of the cone quickly liquefied it ; the
snow-water descended immediately into the porous soil, and the
mountain steamed from head to foot. It is in this way the
atmosphere of haze is produced to which I have already referred.

Our first business in the morning was to improve the shelter
for our people, and to sort them off — for there were too many
mouths to feed. The whole of the Machachi men were told
they might go home, or stop, as they pleased ; and that those
who stopped should receive a silvered cross in addition to their
pay.^ '^'^ If I did not believe in that/' said the oldest of the
troop, Gregorio Albuja, " I would not have come liere. I will
stop with you '' ; and, taking the cross, which I held out, he
pressed it reverently to his lips, and then passed it to his com-
panions, who did the same. Two others agreed to stop, and the
rest returned home.

Those who remained we now proceeded to dress up in accord-

1 Snow fell on Cotopaxi, in February, quite 1000 feet lower than upon Chim-
borazo in January.

"^ I took to Ecuador a number of gilt and silvered crosses, and made use of them
as rewards for special services. The worship of the cross was introduced into this
country at the point of the sword, and has been developed by means of the whip.
It is now firmly rooted there, amongst all classes. Even the Indians voluntarily
make for themselves such rude crucifixes as that in the illustration upon p. 156.

CHAP. VII.

PREPARATIONS. 143

ance with our ideas of propriety, for the ordinary native dress
is as unsuited to mountaineering as can well be. It commences
with a straw hat that generally blows away, and terminates with
alpargatas (string shoes), which, although sufficient when marching
along dusty roads, inadequately protect the feet when tramping

AN ALPARGATA.

over snow and rock. Having rigged them out in some of our
surplus stores, I despatched them upwards under the direction
of Jean-Antoine with a tent, and a quantity of rope, provisions,
and etceteras, and they had a constant struggle with the elements.
Both of the Ecuadorians broke down after a time, and the heavy
part of the work, as usual, was performed by the Carrels. The
weather was the worst. During most of the day it hailed or
snowed, and in the rest there was fog or high wind, accompanied
by much thunder and lightning.

The weather on February 17th strongly resembled that of
the day before. At daybreak the temperature was 28° Faht.,
and in the jorevious night it had been three degrees lower. But
upon this day we heard no noises proceeding from the interior
of the cone, although they had been frequent during the 16th.
At 7 a.m. the summit was visible for a few minutes, and was
seen to be emitting vast clouds of steam continuously, which

144

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

rolled up over the edge of the crater, and drifted away towards
the north. Storms of hail were frequent ; and both here, and
when we were subsequently encamped at the summit, stray
flashes of lightning occurred in uncomfortable if not in dangerous
proximity — blazing out at unexpected times, and conveying the
impression that the atmosj^here was saturated with electricity.

When it was possible to work outside the tent we explored
the neighbourhood, but our acquisitions here were less than upon
any other mountain that we visited. The beetles already men-
tioned, and an ubiquitous frog [Phrynisctos Imvis, Gthr.) were the
only things we saw appertaining
to the animal kingdom. Round
about and below our camp there
were lichens upon the lava be-
longing to the genera Stereocau-
lon and Lecanora, and between
14,000 and 15,000 feet there
was some quantity of a Valerian
( V. Bonplandiana, Wedd.), a few
stray plants of Gentian in flower
( G.foliosa,!!. B. K. ),and two Com-
posites ( Culcitium nivale 9 and
Senecio huiniUirmis, Sz. Bip,).

^h'-='^-^Z^<ryP

CAMP ON COTOPAXI (15,139 FEET).

CHAP. VII. START FOR THE SUMMIT. 145

Above the camp I found nothing, either animal or vegetable,
except some shabby patches of moss (at 15,350 feet), which has
been dubiously identified as Webera nutans, Schimp. Everything
besides growing in ash was covered with it, and presented a very
dirty and unhappy appearance.

The preparations for a start to the summit were now com-
pleted. The tent below was left standing, well-provisioned, in
case we had to make a precipitate retreat ; and there was food
enough near the top of the mountain for several days, should
we be kept prisoners there. The morning of February 18 was
unusually fine, and the upper part of the cone was free from
clouds for several hours. I started off Jean-Antoine Carrel with
two natives at 5.20 a.m. and followed with Louis at six, catch-
ing the others when they were about 17,000 feet above the sea.
We had fine views of Sincholagua (16,365 feet), Antisana (19,335),
and Cayambe (19,186), and spent time in examining these
mountains with a telescope, with a view to ascending them.^
Antisana bore N.E. by E., distant about 28 miles, and there was
in its rear, and rising higher than it, a large pile of cumulus
cloud, which I estimate cannot have been less than 23,000
feet above the level of the sea. This is the greatest elevation
at which I have seen this description of cloud anywhere.

The ascent to Cotopaxi, by the route we followed, was a walk ;
and the direction that we took is best indicated by saying that
we kept along the crest of the rather ill-defined ridge^ which
descends almost continuously from the summit towards the
mountain Ruminahui.^ No climbing whatever was necessary. The

* Later on we ascended all three mountains. They were distant 12, 28, and
62 miles respectively.

^ This ridge is the Yanasache lava. It appears to issue from a fissure in the
cone between 18,000 and 19,000 feet above the sea. It was completely buried in
snow at that height.

^ The route we followed is seen in the view upon p. 137, taken from the lower
camp. The view upon p. 144 was taken with the back to the summit of Coto-
paxi, looking towards Ruminahui.

146 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

lower camp was distant about 8600 feet from the nearest part of
the crater, and in this distance we rose 4500 feet. Isolated snow-
patches commenced at about 15,400 feet, and a little higher we
were able to follow snoAV uninterruptedly right up to the slope
upon which I proposed to encamp. In order to ensure regularity
in the march, we tied up in line, a proceeding that our natives
did not at all comprehend, and they wondered still more at the
use of the axe in cutting steps in the snow, to facilitate progress.
The most interesting feature I noticed upon this section of the
mountain was the existence of glaciers upon the upper part of
the cone. They occurred on each side of us, and in some places
extended to within 500 feet of the top ; but, through being
much covered by ash, it was not possible to say exactly where
they commenced or terminated, and for the same reason they
were quite unrecognisable at a distance.

At 11 a.m. we arrived at the foot of the great slope of ash
upon the western side of the summit, which leads right up to
the edge of the crater, and we found this was the steepest and
most laborious part of the ascent. I estimate it to be 750 feet
high, and 1100 feet long. It was composed of the materials
which are being daily, even hourly ejected ^ (mainly of particles
weighing about 500 to a grain, with an admixture of angular
fragments of lava up to a quarter of an inch in diameter), and
it was piled up nearly to the maximum angle at which it would
stand. I know experimentally that its materials will stand at

^ The eruptions of Cotopaxi yield information respecting the prevailing winds
of this region, and shew clearly that they by no means blow uniformly from the
east, as some suppose. The slope of ash at the top of Cotopaxi, upon its western
side, proves, however, the preponderance of easterly winds at that particular spot
and elevation ; and from the whole of my experiences in Ecuador I should say
that in the interior generally, near the earth (at heights from 9000 to 10,000 feet)
easterly winds predominate, and that north-westerly ones are as rare as in Great
Britain. But wands blowing from the true east were almost equally scarce,
though north-easterly and south-easterly ones were frequent. From greater eleva-
tions (say 20,000-40,000 feet above the sea) there Avas abundant evidence of the
occurrence of powerful northerly and southerly winds, as well as easterly ones.

CHAP. VII. SECOND CAMP ON COTOPAXI. 147

41°, but the face of the slope was not, I think, steeper than
37°/ We deposited our baggage at the foot of it until we had
completed the ascent, and found that occasional streaks of ice
gave some stability to the mass, which would otherwise have
slipped down in large quantities at every step.

We hurried up this unstable slope as fast as we could go,
and reached the western edge of the summit rim exactly at
mid-day. The crater was nearly filled with smoke and steam,
which drifted about and obscured the view. The opposite side
could scarcely be perceived, and the bottom was quite concealed.
As the vapours were wafted hither and thither, we gained a
pretty good idea of the general shape of the crater, though as
a whole it was not seen until night-time.

A few minutes after our arrival, a roar from the bottom
told us that the " animal " (Carrel^s term for the volcano) was
alive. It had been settled beforehand that every man was to
shift for himself if an eruption occurred, and that all our be-
longings were to be abandoned. When we heard the roar, there
was an '^'^ it is time to be off " expression clearly written on all
our faces ; but before a word could be uttered we found our-
selves enveloped only in a cloud of cool and quite unobjection-
able steam, and we concluded to stop.

The establishment of the tent was the first consideration.
It was unanimously decided that it was not advisable to camp
at the top of the slope, close to the rim or lip of the crater,
on account of wind and the liability to harm from lightning,
and the more I examined the slope itself the less I liked it.
It was naked, exposed, and slipped upon the slightest provoca-
tion. Jean-Antoine and I therefore set out on a tour to look
for a better place, but after spending several hours in passing
round about a quarter of the crater, without result, we returned
to the others, and all hands set to work to endeavour to make
a platform upon the ash. This proved to be a long and trouble-
' This is the angle represented in the section on p. 149.

148 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vri.

some business. Unlike snow, it gained no coherence by being
beaten or trampled down, and the more they raked to extend
our platform the more slipped down from above. Ultimately
it was made sufficiently secure by scooping channels in the
portion of the slope which was above and tenderly pouring
many tons upon the slope below, so as to strengthen the base.
The tent-ropes were secured to large blocks of lava, which had
to be brought from long distances and buried in the ash. For
additional security four ropes were run out besides the usual
ones, and we rigged up our long rope as a sort of handrail to
the nearest convenient point of the rim of the crater, from
which we were distant 250 feet. When this was done, the
natives were sent back to the lower camp, and the Carrels and
I remained alone.

We had scarcely completed our preparations when a violent
squall arose, which threatened to carry the whole establishment
away, and during an hour it was a great question whether our
abode would weather the storm. The squall passed away as
suddenly as it rose, and for the rest of our stay we were not
much troubled by wind. While this was occurring there was
another cause for alarm. A great smell of india-rubber com-
menced to arise, and on putting my hand to the floor of the
tent I found that it was on the point of melting. On placing
a maximum thermometer on the floor (at the point marked C
in the annexed diagram), it rose until it indicated 110° Faht.
As my feet did not feel at all warm I tried the temperature at
the other side of the tent (at A) and found it was only 50°, and
in the middle (at B) it was 72° '5. These temperatures were
maintained during our stay on this spot. Outside, even during
the daytime, the air was intensely cold ; ^ and the minimum of

* This had been anticipated, and we suffered no inconvenience from cold. I
sent up a large quantity of extra ponchos and wraps, and our wearing apparel
was more than doubled. Besides my usual dress, I wore an extra flannel shirt,
a thick woollen sweater, a down dressing-gown, and a huge Ulster coat over all.

CHAP. VII.

NIGHT ON THE SUMMIT.

149

the night of February 18, registered by a thermometer placed
four feet above the ground and four feet from the tent on its
windward side, was 13° Faht., which was the lowest temperature
that was observed during the whole of the journey.

POSITION OF THE TENT ON THE SUMMIT OF COTOPAXI.

When daylight began to fail, we settled down in the tent, and
it is now time to recur to the motive which had taken us to the
summit of Cotopaxi. There were three principal questions to
which I desired answers. 1. Shall we, upon again reaching the
elevation, and experiencing the diminution in pressure which had
rendered us incapable on Chimborazo, have a recurrence of our ex-
periences upon that mountain ? 2. Or, are we now habituated to
a pressure of 16 inches ? 3. If we are habituated to a pressure of
16 inches, shall we now be able to remain some length of time at
a considerably lower pressure without being rendered incapable ?

During the ascent I had watched my people with mingled
feelings of curiosity and anxiety. Their pace was rather slow,^

My head was protected by a knitted woollen headpiece, crowned by a Dundee
whaling-cap, with flaps.

^ Between the first camp and the summit we rose at the rate of 700 feet per
hour, which was a fair one for heavily-laden people. My own load weighed 23
lbs. All the others carried more than 30 lbs. apiece.

150 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

but it was steadily maintained. At one point, when between
18,000 and 19,000 feet above the level of the sea, they went
up 360 steps without stopping. I noticed nothing unusual
during the ascent, nor upon the summit, except the overpower-
ing desire to sit down, which always mastered us when we were
at great elevations (low pressures), and the disposition to breathe
through open mouths. The collapse on Chimborazo had, how-
ever, occurred very suddenly. We were all right in one hour
and all wrong in the next. It came upon us, so it seemed,
without premonition. All at once, we found ourselves with
intense headaches (not having had any before), gasping for air,
and half asphyxiated. Hour after hour went by on the summit
of Cotopaxi without anything of the kind happening again.
Jean-Antoine refused to admit that he had any ailments ; Louis
acknowledged that he had a rather sharp headache, and I had
a slight one. That was all, beyond the feeling of lassitude
which, I repeat, always came over us at the greatest heights.
On Chimborazo we had all been feverish. Even when recover-
ing, my blood temperature was as high as 100° '4 with the air
at 49°. On Cotopaxi it remained at 98° "2 both with higher and
lower air temperatures. In short, during the twenty-six hours
which we passed on the summit of Cotopaxi, from mid-day
February 18, to 2 p.m. on the 19th, there was no recurrence of
the more acute symptoms, and no perceptible effects were pro-
duced (beyond those which have been mentioned) by the low
atmospheric pressure that we experienced.^

When night fairly set in we went up to view the interior
of the crater. The atmosphere was cold and tranquil. We could
hear the deadened roar of the steam-blasts as they escaped from
time to time. Our long rope had been fixed both to guide in
the darkness, and to lessen the chance of disturbing the equi-
librium of the slope of ash. Grasping it, I made my way

1 At 6.20 a.m., on Feb. 19, on the rim of the crater (above the tent), the
mercurial barometer stood at 14 '748 inches, with the air temperature at 21° Faht.

■I

, < • '

'■•• I

>f.- --.

PART OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE CRATER OF COTOPAXI.

CHAP. VII.

THE CRATER BY NIGHT.

151

upwards, prepared for something dramatic, for a strong glow on
the under sides of the steam-clouds shewed that there was fire
below. Crawling and grovelling as the lip was approached, I bent

eagerly forward to peer
into the unknown, with
Carrel behind, gripping
my legs.

The vapours no longer
concealed any part of
the vast crater, though
they were there, drift-
about, as before.

'' THERE WAS FIRE BELOW.

152

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vir.

We saw an amphitheatre 2300 feet in diameter from north to
souths and 1650 feet across from east to west/ with a rugged and
irregular crest, notched and cracked ; surrounded by cHffs, by
perpendicular and even overhanging precipices, mixed with steep
slopes — some bearing snow, and others apparently encrusted with
sulphur. Cavernous recesses belched forth smoke ; the sides of

cracks and chasms no more than half-way down shone with
ruddy light ; and so it continued on all sides, right down to the
bottom, precipice alternating with slope, and the fiery fissures
becoming more numerous as the bottom was approached. At
the bottom, probably twelve hundred feet below us, and towards
the centre, there was a rudely circular spot, about one-tenth of
the diameter of the crater, the pipe of the volcano, its channel

^ The accompanying plan is made from measurements wliich were talcen on
the following morning. From A to B (600 feet) was measured by a line. Z repre-
sents the mouth of the pipe at the bottom of the crater. C was the lowest point
in the lip or rim, and A, D, E were the highest ones.

CHAP. vri. A GREAT SAFETY -VAT.VE. 153

of communication witli lower regions, filled with incandescent if
not molten lava, glowing and burning ; with flames travelling to
and fro over its surface, and scintillations scattering as from a
wood-fire ; lighted by tongues of flickering flame which issued
from the cracks in the surrounding slopes.

At intervals of about half an hour the volcano regularly
blew off steam. It rose in jets with great violence from the
bottom of the crater, and boiled over the lip, continually envelop-
ing us. The noise on these occasions resembled that which we
hear when a large ocean steamer is blowing off steam. It
appeared to be pure, and we saw nothing thrown out, yet in
the morning the tent was almost black with matter which had
been ejected. These intermittent and violent escapes of (com-
paratively) small quantities of steam proceeded with considerable
regularity during our stay on the summit, but I cannot suppose
they are continually happening. They can scarcely have occurred
when we saw the clouds of steam quietly simmering out of the
crater from the Hacienda Kosario (see p. 123), or from our camp
upon Feb. 17, and upon numerous other occasions. My prede-
cessors on Cotopaxi do not speak of them. They were evidently
of the same nature, though much inferior in force to those
which we had seen emitted from Sangai a few weeks previously.

I do not feel able to frame an explanation which would
account for these outbursts if it is assumed that fluid, molten
lava filled the pipe. I conjecture that the lava in the pipe
leading from the bottom of the crater, although intensely hot,
was cooling and settling down, closing fissures and imprisoning
steam that desired to escape, which presently acquired sufficient
force to burst through the barriers and effect temporary relief.
I imagine that the settling and closing-up process recommenced
after each outburst, until some unusually violent explosion estab-
lished what may be termed a free vent. The steam then welled
out unimpeded, in the manner we so frequently observed. After
such occasions, the internal pressure being diminished, I presume

154 TRAVELS AMONOST TEE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

that tlie closing-up process went on with greater activity, and
that the vent was sometimes entirely closed, causing the volcano
to appear unusually tranquil.

Steam unquestionably plays a leading part in the operations
of Cotopaxi, and sometimes the quantity that issues is enormous.
One morning in the following April, when encamped, at the
height of 14,760 feet, on Cayambe, at a distance of about sixty
miles to the north-north-east, just after daybreak, we saw Coto-
paxi pouring out a prodigious volume of steam, which boiled up
a few hundred feet above the rim of its crater, and then, being
caught by a south-westerly wind, was borne towards the north-
east, almost up to Cayambe. The bottom of this cloud was
about 5000 feet above us ; it rose at least a mile high, and spread
over a width of several miles ; and, as it was travelling a little
to the east of us, we had a perfect and unimpeded view of it.
I estimate that on this occasion we saw a continuous body of
not less than sixty cubic miles of cloud formed from steam. If
this vast volume, instead of issuing from a free vent, had found
its passage barred, itself imprisoned, Cotopaxi on that morning
might have been effaced, and the whole continent might have
quivered under an explosion rivalling or surpassing the mighty
catastrophe at Krakatoa.

We were up again before dayliglit on the lOth, and then
measured GOO feet on the western side of the crater, and took
angles to gtiin an idea of its dimensions. I photographed it,^
and made final observations of the mercurial barometer to deter-
mine its altitude. From the mean of the whole, its summit
appears to be 19,613 feet above the sea. In 1872-3, Messrs.
Keiss and Stiibel (by angles taken from various barometrically
measured bases) made its height 19,498 feet ; and, by the same
method, La Condamine, in the early part of last century, found
that its height was 18,865 feet. As there is not much proba-

^ Tlie engraving facing p. 147 has been made from this photograph. The whole of
the interior of the crater M^as surrounded by cliffs and slopes of the same character.

CHAP. VII. SOME MORE " TREASURES''! 155

bility of considerable error in any of the determinations, it would
seem that Cotopaxi has materially increased its elevation in the
course of the last century and a half.

The time to descend had now arrived, and at 11.30 a.m. our
Ecuadorians should have remounted to assist in carrying our
baggage down again. The weather, however, was abominable,
and they preferred to leave the work to us. After depositing
our more bulky stores at the foot of the great slope of ash, we
tramped down to the first camp. The feet of Louis were still
in a very tender state, and he could not take part in racing ;
but Jean-Antoine and I went down as hard as we could, and
descended the 4,300 feet in 110 minutes. Two days more elapsed
before animals could be brought from Machachi for the retreat,
and it was late on the 21st before we got clear of Cotopaxi.
The night was dark, and the path invisible ; but guided by the
bells we gained the hamlet, and encamped once more in the
chapel of Ped regal.

The rest of my Machachi men now returned home, and the
authorities lost no time in interviewing them, for these poor
noodles were possessed with the idea that we were in search of
gold. " Tell us, what did they do ? "" Said my men, " The Doctor,
dressed like a king, went from one place to another, looking
about ; but after a time Sefior Juan and Senor Luis seemed
afraid of him, for they tied him up with a rope.^' ^'Enough of
this; tell us, did they find treasure?^' ^^We think they did.
They went down on their hands and knees searching for it, and
they wrapjied what they took in paper and brought it away.^^
*'Was it gold?" '' We do not know, but it was very heavy."
This, though true, was rather misleading. The " royal " attire
which so impressed them consisted of the Ulster coat and dress-
ing-gown underneath, crowned by the Dundee whaling-cap ; and
the " treasures " we carried away were samples of the jagged
crest and debris of the terminal slope.

156

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vii.

Cotopaxi shews no signs of approaching decrepitude, and for
many centuries yet to come it may remain the highest active
volcano in the world ; or perchance the imprisoned forces may
find an easier outlet, through barriers offering less resistance,
and either Sangai, Tunguragua, or Pichincha may become the
premier volcano of the Equator. Whilst the great cone which
has so often trembled with subterranean thunders — buried be-
neath glaciers more extensive than those of Cayambe or Anti-
sana — will echo with the crash of the ice-avalanche ; its crater
will disappear, and, over its rugged floor and its extinguished
fires, soft snowflakes will rear a majestic dome loftier than
Chimborazo.

INDIAN CRUCIFtX.

THE BELLS OF PEDREGAL.

CHAPTER Aail.

THE FIRST ASCEKT OF SINCHOLAGUA.

During our stay at tlie summit of Cotopaxi, we had remained
continuously for twenty-six hours at a lower pressure than had
been experienced during any twenty-six consecutive hours on
Chimborazo/ without having a recurrence of what I have ven-
tured to term the acute symptoms of mountain-sickness ; and this
was satisfactory^ as it indicated that we had become somewhat
habituated to low pressures. It is material to observe that,
although we were actively employed during much of the time,
the Avork in which we were engaged did not tax our strength. It
is by no means certain, if larger demands had been made upon
it, that our condition would have remained equally sound.

The ascent of Cotopaxi, however, was considered severely scien-
tific by my men. Prolonged residences in exalted situations were

^ The highest reading of the mercurial barometer (reduced to 32° Faht.) at our
camp (135 feet below the summit of Cotopaxi) was 14*808 inches, and the lowest
was 14-761 inches. This (19,500 feet) was the most elevated position at which
we encamped on the journey.

158 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. viii.

little to their taste. They pined for work more iu harmony with
the old traditions ; for something with dash and go, — the sallying
forth in the dead of the night with rope and axe, to slay a giant ;
returning at dusk, with shouts and rejoicing, bringing its head
in a haversack. I sacrificed a day to meet their wishes, and told
them to select a peak, just as one may give a sugar-plum to a
fractious child to keep it quiet.

Giants were scarce in , the neighbourhood of Fed regal. My
men looked upon Pasochoa with a sort of contempt, and at
Euminahui with disfavour, as there were at least half-a-dozen
ways up it ; and their choice fell upon Sincholagua, an attenuated
peak, appetizing to persons with a taste for Aiguilles, that had
stared us in the face when we looked out of the window at Mach-
achi,* which might be ascended in one way, and in one only. It
may be described as forming a northern extension of the massif
of Cotopaxi, and it stands to that mountain in much the same
relation as Carihuairazo to Chimborazo.

In a section of Ecuador in this latitude, the ground (proceeding
from west to east) falls continuously from the summit of Corazon "^
to the bed of the Kio Grande ; then ascends, to cross a ridge con-
necting Pasochoa with Ruminahui, and descends, gently, through

1 Its height according to Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel is 16,365 feet (4988 metres),
and La Condamine 16,435 feet (2570 toises). It is probably the tenth in rank of
the Great Andes of the Equator.

^ I am unable to say anything about the country on the Pacific side of Corazon.
We did not see it, and it is possible that for some distance to the west of this
mountain it has never been seen by any one. No reliance can be placed upon that
part of the Maldonado map.

Amongst the curious mistakes of detail in this map may be mentioned the
insertion of the name of Ruminahui (Ruminaui) over the position actually occupied
by Pasochoa, and the entire omission of the former mountain. On this map,
nothing is made to intervene between Corazon and Cotopaxi. In La Condamine's
map, Ruminahui occupies its proper position, — Pasochoa, however, is omitted.

Ruminahui (15,607 R. & S.) is a large and prominent mountain, though not one
of the greatest of the Andes of the Equator. From north to south it extends over
about twelve miles, and it fills the space between the eastern (right) bank of the
Rio Grande, and our track from Pedregal to Cotopaxi.

CHAP. VIII. THE RIO PITA. 159

Pedregal to the bed of the Rio Pita (about 11,300 feet). Sincho-
lagua rises on the eastern side of this river, and forms the cul-
minating point of a long ridge running northwards from Cotopaxi,
Avhich dies out in the basin of Chillo, and in a manner may be
said to extend to the east and north-east until it meets the western
slopes of Antisana.'

As Sincholagua promised to give full occupation for a day,
it was arranged to ride as far as animals could be used ; and we
should have started before sunrise, only, when the right time
came our mules were nowhere, or, speaking more correctlv, they
were everywhere, as the arrieros after carefully driving them into
a yard where there was nothing to eat had left the entrance to it
unclosed, and the animals very sensibly wandered out on the
rhoorland, where they could browse.

We sallied forth on Feb. 33, at 7 a.m., and after returning a
few miles over the Cotopaxi track turned sharply towards the
east, directly towards our mountain ; crossed the tiny Rio Pedregal
and some moorish ground, and at 8.15 forded the Rio Pita.*^ The
ravages of the great flood which descended from Cotopaxi on June
26, 1877, were fresh at that time, and it was clear that when it
was at its highest this stream must have been about 1100 feet
wide, and not less than fifty feet deep.^ When we crossed this
formidable river it had shrunk to a width of about two hundred
feet, and was no more than three feet in depth.

Sincholagua rose abruptly on its right bank. The Carrels
went to the front, and in a few minutes Louis became embogged

1 Three weeks later, from the Hacienda of Antisanilla, I saw tliat the country
between Antisana and Sincholaii^ua might almost be termed table-land ; liavins:
undulations, but no salient peaks, and an extreme elevation of 12-13,000 feet,

"^ I did not observe the height of this point. It was probably about the same
as that of the Hacienda of Pedregal (11,629 feet).

3 From the note at p. 126, it will be seen that the flood travelled the whole
distance from Cotopaxi to Esmeraldas at about the rate of seventeen miles per hour.
Owing to the steepness of the fall, the rate was no doubt much greater during the
earlier part of its course, when it descended into the basin of Chillo, and erased the
factories of the Aguirre family.

160 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. vni.

in some alluring and deceitful ground. In this country (and it
may perhaps be said of the slopes of mountains in general) any
spot that is especially verdant is sure to be swampy. In Ecuador,
this is no doubt an indication that the earth in the immediate
neighbourhood of such spots is not fissured ; water is unable to
drain away, and the soil becomes saturated.^

After all hands had extricated Louis and his beast from the
morass^ Cevallos (our principal arriero) took the lead. He was
a capital horseman, and, unlike the majority of his class, had no
objections to his animals going to great heights. AVe pushed on
hard, and in two hours and a quarter rose three thousand feet, —
half-way up coming suddenly upon three deer, gambolling about.
These lower slopes, though steep, were easy to ride over, and
up to 14,000 feet and higher were rather luxuriantly covered
with grasses.

At about the height of 14,800 feet our animals could go no

farther, and were left in charge of Cevallos. This spot was

just above the clouds which are underneath the summit in the

engraving on the opposite page. All the grass land was below,

and we w^ere confronted with crags, precipitous enough for any

one, crowned by fields of snow and ice, the birthplace of a fine

hanging-glacier which crept down almost perpendicular cliffs,

^ The scarcity of rills aiul streams upon most of the Great Andes of the Equator
was continually remarked, and we frequently had trouble in obtaining- a supply of
water. It seems not improbable that the surface drainag-e infiltrates to great depths,
and supplies much of the steam that escapes from the active volcanoes. Little of it
reappears on the surface in springs. The only warm s})ring of any size that I saw
in the interior was near Machachi, about fifty yards from the Avest (left) bank of the
Rio (irande, and about fifteen feet above that river. It bubbled up freely in a
considerable volume in a pool, twelve by ten feet across, with a quantity of gas
escaping. The temperature of this spring at mid-day was 69° Faht., and of the air
65° "25. It was said that in the early morning the temperature of the water was
JdgJier. It was scarcely necessary to investigate the accuracy of this statement.
The air temperature in the morning was generally below 55° Faht.; and, if the
warmth of the spring remained constant, the contrast between the two temperatures
would be greater then than at mid-day. People come both to drink at and to bathe
in this i)Ool, Its taste was compared to Vichy water.

CHAP. VIII.

SINCIIOLAGUA.

161

SINCHOLAGUA, FROM NEAR PEDREGAL.

162 TRAVELS AMONGST THE ORE AT ANDES, chap. viri.

nacles like the teeth of a saw, and terminated at the immediate
summit by sheer precipice. Tlie western side was equally un-
assailable, and the only way by which the top might be reached
was from the north, along the snow ar^te at the crest of the
mountain.

In two hours we rose more than another thousand feet, and
(having turned sharply to the right and climbed the snow on
the left of the engraving) passed under the cliffs of the minor
(northern) peak. We were nearly sixteen thousand feet high,
with a clear sky, and the summit not far off ; men in good spirits,
rather inclined to crow, and to vaunt the superiority of the old
style, wdien — Heaven knows where it came from — a hailstorm
sent us flying for protection to the cliffs, crouching in their
fissures, covering our faces with our hands to save them from the
half-inch stones which bounded and ricochetted in all directions,
and smote the rocks with such fury that they dislodged or actually
broke fragments from the higher ledges. Twice we left our refuge
and were beaten back. These ice-balls were as unpleasant as a
shower of bullets.

Then came a lull. Snow began to fall, at first mixed with
the hail, and afterwards in large flakes, thickly. The hail
ceased, and was succeeded by lightning. Emerging from our
retreat, we traversed the glacier to a small island in its midst,^
and stormed the slope banked-up against the wall which forms
the summit ridge, and found the drifted snow along its crest
surmounted a sheer precipice on the eastern side. The narrow
way along the top led to the foot of the final peak. The route
could not be mistaken, though the summit was invisible and our
arite, rising at an increasing angle, disappeared in the thunder-
clouds.

Hitherto the flashes had only glanced occasionally through

1 This was the fifth mountain in the neighbourhood of the Equator upon which
we had already found glaciers. The others were Chimborazo, Carihuairazo, Illiniza
and Cotopaxi.

CHAP. VIII. AT THE SU3IMIT OF SINCHOLAGUA. 163

the murky aii% each followed by a single bang, which is all one
hears when close to the point of discharge.^ Around the peak
they blazed away without intermission, several often occurring in
a single instant. The whole air seemed to be saturated with
electricity, and the thunder kept up an almost continuous roar.

THE SUMMIT OF SINCHOLAGlf A.

With ice-axes hissing ominously, and confined to the crest of
the ridge by the abruptness of its sides, we gradually approached
the summit. The last few yards were the steepest of all. The
snow was reduced to a mere thread (too small to be shewn in
the annexed engraving^), leaning against the rock, and it was
marvellous that it stood firmly at such an angle. Steps at an
ordinary distance apart could not be made. The leading man
stretched forward to scrape away a small platform, flogged it

^ See Scrambles amongst the Alps, pp. 172-4.

^ Which gives an accurate sectional representation of the final peak from north
to south. Our track is shewn by the dotted line, and the summit lies underneath
the cross. From east to west the top of this mountain is much smaller than in
the other direction.

164 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. viii.

down to make it coliere, then dashed his axe in as high as he
could reach and hooked himself up, while number two drove in
his baton as far as it would go to prevent the snow from breaking-
down.-^ In this manner we arrived at the summit. Its top was
too small to get upon, and, by exception, was solid, unshattered
rock right up to its very highest 2)oint. Jean-Antoine knocked
off its head with his ice-axe whilst I operated a few feet below.
Having performed this important ceremony, we immediately
descended, face inwards for the first part of the way, with light-
ning blazing all around as far as the end of the summit ridge.
Then it ceased ; we ran down to Cevallos, and, driving the beasts
before us at a trot to the bottom of the slopes, recrossed the
Rio Pita higher up than before, and pushed the pace hard all
the way to Pedregal."^ The giant was slain, and we returned,
rejoicing, with its head'' in a bag, though with little to shew
besides, and nothing that need be mentioned except a sedge (a
variety of Carex Jamesoni, Boott) which was obtained at the
height of about 14,500 feet.

1 Both here and in other places we should have been beaten if the snow had
not been moist and tenacious. Dry, flour-like snow will not stand at such angles
as were traversed at the top of Sincholagua.

^ Left the suminit at 2.30 p.m., and arrived at Pedregal 6.50 p.m. The time
occupied on the ascent and descent (excluding halts) was 9 hs. 25 min. The mean
of the ascending and descending rates was about one thousand feet per hour.

^ "A compact dark-coloured rock, with a slightly rough fracture, containing
numerous small crystals of whitish felspar, generally not exceeding '1 inch in
the longer diameter. Under the microscope, the ground-mass is seen to be a
felted, mass of minute elongated crystallites, probably felspar, and of specks of
opacite ; there is probably a residual glassy base, but so numerous are the crystallites
that it is by no means easy to be sure. In this ground-mass are scattered larger
crystals of plagioclastic felspar similar to those already described, augite, with
probably some hypersthene and magnetite. The rock is thus an augite-andesite,
l)robabIy hyperstheniferous.^'— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Proc. Roy. Soc, Nov. 1884.

In the paper already cited in ITist. cle VAcad. Roy. defi Sciences, Paris, 1751, La
Condamine says :— " Sinchoulagoa, Volcan en 1660, communiquant avec Pitchincha."
I do not know his authority for these statements. No semblance of a crater was
seen on any part of it.

CHAP. VIII.

DEPARTURE FROM MACHACHL

165

Louis now (after seven weeks' rest) was sufficiently restored
for active exertion, and I proposed to make my way to Antisana.
Beino- advised tiiat it would be easiest to proceed via Quito, I

decided to shift liead-quarters
to the Capital, and we re-
turned to Machachi to make
the necessary preparations.
When the time came for de-
parture, quite a little crowd
assembled. We had entered
the place strangers, our ways
appeared odd to the natives,
and we could not converse
with freedom. But in course
of time a good understanding
had arisen. The language of
kindness is under-
stood everywhere.
They had been use-
ful to us, and we
had not been un-
mindful of them ;
and now, when
about to leave, all
our young friends
(with the little girl
in blue), David
and his wife, Gre-
gorio, Lorenzo, the
poncho-maker, and
many others came together to say good-bye ; while Antonio
Racines, arrayed in his best, accompanied us several miles on
the road, and took leave with many good wishes and profound
salutations.

AT PEDRRGAL.

166

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. viii.

On crossing the Tambillo ridge (10,090 feet) Quito made its
appearance, looking very insignificant at the foot of Pichincha.
Upon entering the city we went at once to the Hotel Giacometti,
where rooms had been already secured by the good offices of the
British Minister, Mr. F. Douglas Hamilton.

ENTRANCE TO THE HACIENDA, PEDKEGAL.

ECUADOKIENNE EARRINGS.

CHAPTER IX.

O^ QUITO AND THE QUITONIAJ^S.

The Capital of the Republic of the Equator is situated at the
bottom of the eastern slopes of Pichincha, close to where they
abut against the Puengasi ridge ; and between these two mount-
ains the drainage of the area which may properly be termed the
basin of Quito escapes, through a cleft, on to the Plain of Tumbaco.
This basin extends from the city to the Tambillo ridge, and is
bounded on the west by Atacatzo and 2:»art of Pichincha, and on
the cast by Puengasi. Previous writers have spoken of the valley
of Quito ; and (ignoring the natural lines of drainage which have
been enumerated^) have even applied that term to the whole of
the interior embraced between Riobamba and the Plain of Tum-
baco. The only area to which this designation can properly be
given is that which is indicated above ; and even this, it seems
to me, is more aptly called the hasin of Quito.

The population of the city is commonly said to range from
60,000 to 80,000 : but, from comparison of the spaces known to
be covered by towns whose population has been ascertained, I

* See pp. 86, 97, and 105.

168 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

feel confident that the number of its inhabitants is far beneath
the lower of these estimates/ The compact part of Quito does
not cover a square mile ; and, I think, at the most, the city proper
cannot contain more than 30,000 persons. The total may, per-
haps, amount to 34,000 or 35,000 if the suburbs which extend
along the roads going north and south are included.

The northern is some hundreds of feet higher than the southern
end of Quito. ^ Several ancient quebradas run through the heart
of the city ; and, as the whole of the ground upon which it stands
is sloping, there is a natural drainage into these fissures. This
fact, and the daily occurrence of sharp showers which cleanse the
place, doubtless account for its freedom from bad smells, and
immunity from pestilence. It had no proper supply of water.
The populace depended upon the public fountains and their sur-
rounding basins in the Plazas, which were contaminated with
abominations. Very particular persons had two pennyworths of
water brought every morning, several miles, in large pots ; * but,
judging from the limited number of water-carriers, the fastidious
class formed a select minority of the population. There was one
old water-carrier, with white hair and a pink face, who was a
well-known figure in Quito. I offered to take his portrait, and
told him that he should have a shilling if he stood quite still
and only fourpence if he moved. '' Sefior,^' said the old fellow,
*^ though several gentlemen have proposed to do the same, you
are the first who has suggested any remuneration.''

* Dr, W. Jameson says {Journal of Royal Oeog. Soc, 1861, p, 185): "On several
occasions the Government has been desirous of ascertaining the actual number of in-
habitants, but without arriving at a satisfactory result. The people became alarmed,
from an idea that the formation of a census is a preliminary step towards the im-
position of a tax." Mr. Church (in Report to Mr. Blaine, dated 1883) says the same.

^ The accompanying Plan is after one made by Father J. B. Menten, S.J., who
Avas Director of the Observatory in 1880. Corrections and additions have been
introduced into it. The names of the streets have been changed since the original
was made, and it would be useless to give them.

3 A medio (equal to twopence) was the regular (charge for a jar like that borne by
the water-carrier I have engraved.

REFERENCES.

I. GOVERNMENT OFFICES.

2. GRAND PLAZA.

3. ARCHIEPISOOPAL PALACE.

4. THE CATHEDRAL.

5. THE JESUIT'S CHURCH.

6. GIACOMETTIS HOTEL.

7. RESIDENCE OF THE CHILIAN MINISTER

8. RESIDENCE OF THE BRITISH MINISTER.

9. PLAZA.

10. CHURCH OF S. ROQUE.

II. DO. S. MARCOS.

12. DO. S. BLAS.

13. DO. S. SEBASTIAN.

14. DO. STA. BARBARA.

15. DO. S. JUAN.

16. DO. DE LA RECOLLECCION DE LA MERCED

17. DO. S DIEGO.

18. POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL

19. THE OBSERVATORY.

20. PUBLIC GARDEN.

21. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JESUITS.

22. SCHOOL OF THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN.

23. PLAZA.

24. BRIDGE & ROAD TO MACHACHI & THE SOUTH.

25. ROAD TO THE NORTH.

28. SCHOOLS.

27. ROAD TO TUMBACO, PIFO. & PAPALLACTA.

28. CHURCH & CONVENT OF S. FRANCISCO.

29. DO. DO. LA MERCED.

30. DO. DO. S. AUGUSTIN.

31. DO. DO. S. DOMINGO.
32. CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.

33. DO. DEL CARMEN ANTIGUO.

34. DO. DEL CARMEN MODERNO.

35. DO. OF STA. CLARA.

36. DO. DO. CATARINA.

37. HOSPITAL CHURCH.

38. HOSPITAL.

39. HOSPICE.

40. CHAPEL OF JERUSALEM.

41. QUEBRADA UNDER QUITO.

42. OPEN SPACE.
43. CONVENT.

__Roa£i to ^itNoTph JRotici to TimkojUt

QUITO

FROM A PLAN BY J. B, MENTEN

To LloQ. &. PuJunxJixL

CHAP. IX.

THE PANECILLO OF QUITO.

169

The best near view of the city is obtained from the top of a
regularly formed Panecillo, which is just within the range of the
Plan/ and from the same spot there is an admirable panorama of
the Great Andes in the immediate neighbourhood of the Equator.
Looking north, first comes Ootocachi (16,301), a rather sharp peak^

THE OLD WATER-CARRIER.

of pyramidal form, referred to in a later chapter ; next, turning
eastwards, there is Mojanda (14,083 R. & S.), which perhaps covers
a greater space than any other mountain in Ecuador ; then Cay-
ambe (19,186), a grand, snow-clad extinct volcano lying just north

' The Panecillo is a recognized playground for the children of Quito. It was
covered with grass and patches of dwarf shrubs. At the summit there was a
quantity of moss of the genus Macromitrmm, and abundance of the lichens F/tyscia
chrysophthalma, DC, and P. flavicans, DC. Amongst this vegetation I collected
about thirty species of spiders, beetles, etc., including those which are enumerated
in the Supplementary Appendix, Preface, p. ix.

170 TRAVELS A310NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

of the Equator ; followed by Sincholagua, Cotopaxi, Pasoclioa,
Ruminahui, the three hills of Chaupi on the Tiupullo ridge, Cor-
azon, Atacatzo, and Pichincha.^

The majority of the dwellings in the city have only a ground -
floor with one story above, and the streets mostly have a tame
appearance from the small height of the houses and want of
objects breaking the sky-line. Any one looking down upon these
five hundred acres of flat, featureless roofs will appreciate the
artistic value of chimney-pots. Quito has neither chimneys nor
fireplaces. Its temperature is supposed to be sufficiently high
to dispense with artificial warmth, and no provision is made for
heating apartments. As a matter of fact, it is usually high
enough for comfort,^ though fires would be agreeable when it falls
a degree or two lower than usual, for small variations are more
felt in this equable climate than in places where the range in
temperature is greater.

It is customary here, when a visitor takes off his hat upon
entering a room, to beg him to put it on again ; and, in the absence
of permission, leave is generally requested. This, it is said, arises
from apprehension that cold will be taken by remaining uncovered.
The same persons, upon going out of doors, take off their hats to
flashes of lightning, no matter whether rain is falling ; and, when
the streets are busy and lightning is abundant, a grotesque effect
is produced by these salutations, which seem to be regarded a duty
by well - behaved persons, and are performed as punctiliously as
the homage which is paid to ]-eligious processions, when they are
in sight.

Our hotel was nearly in the centre of the city. It was kept
by a truculent Corsican. who habitually stuck his arms akimbo
and frowned at his guests, as if ready to knock them down or eat
oft* their heads. One day, at the table d'hote^ he fought a pitched

1 I (lid not see llliniza from the Pauecillo. and am unable to say whether it is
ever visible from it.

2 For temperatures at Quito, see Appendix E.

CHAP. IX.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

171

battle in his own salle-a-manger. Conversation turned upon
the merits of the Napoleons, and Giacometti entertained strong-
opinions about them, which did not coincide with those of a young-
Frenchman who had served in the cavalry, and taken part in the
combats around Metz. Presently, the gentlemen called each other
liar and coward, and then all at once they jumped up and charged
— Giacometti seizing a chair by its back and raising it with both
hands to brain his guest, who, however, eluded the blow, and
grappling with the maitre dliotel soon had him sprawling on the
floor, kicking and raving like a madman. Glasses and crockery
flew about, and the result would have been very serious (for the
china) had not two persons fallen upon the combatants and dragged
them apart. No sooner was the innkeeper released than he snatched
up a bottle, and again made towards the cuirassier to break it on
his head, but they were parted, and dragged yelling from the room
to finish the fray outside. The coarseness of their language would
have done credit to Billingsgate. I could not see that it was in
the least diminished by the low pressure reigning at Quito.

From my windows at the hotel I looked out on one of the prin-
cipal streets, and had excellent opportunities of viewing the little
peculiarities of the Quitonians. Here, as well as in other parts of

South America, it is correct for
ladies to cover up their features
when walking abroad, but I
found there was great laxity in
this matter, and that the lower
orders paid no attention to
such proprieties. The straw
hats of local manufacture were
not fashionable. Men wore the
black, chimney-pot hat of civil-
ization, and I have a story to
relate about something which
befel a black hat in Quito.

A LADY OF QUITO.

172 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

Upon the day following our arrival, His Excellency the
President of the Republic sent a very polite message through
Mr. Hamilton, intimating his Avish to see me. He received us
without formality and with much cordiality, dismissing a visitor
(who was, I believe, a Colonel in the Ecuadorian Army) to the
farther end of the apartment. Out of regard to his time, after
a little general conversation, we rose to go ; but he insisted upon
our remaining, and presently inquired if there was anything he
could do for me. I answered that there was. At this, just a
shade of displeasure appeared on his mobile features, though he
kindly asked, '' In what way ? " I said that it would afford me
gratification if he would permit his name to be connected with
one of the Great Andes. '^ AVith the highest point of Chim-
borazo,^' I went on, '^ one cannot meddle. Its second peak has
not been christened, and I ask permission to be allowed to
associate your name with it.^'

The President now became interested in Ohimborazo, and
desired to know its height, and upon hearing it expressed sur-
prise, saying, '* I should have thought it was thirty thousand
feet high, at the least. ^^ " Pardon me, your Excellency," I replied,
one could not have proposed to associate the name of Veinte-
milla with a peak thirty thousand feet high." He forgave this
impromptu by asking for an account of the ascent, and Mr.
Hamilton engrossed the GeneraFs attention with a graphic
description of it. Presently, finding himself in want of a black-
board, and seeing nothing more like one than a black hat which
was upon the table, he used it to illustrate the spiral ascent,
and excited my admiration by the vigour and accuracy with
which he traced our route, as he drove a deep furrow through
the shining nap, to shew how we sank in the snow.

While this tete-a-tete was progressing, the President leaning
forwards on his elbows, intently following Mr. Hamilton's dis-
course, I noticed a movement at the other end of the room ;
and, glancing round, found that the Colonel was writhing in

CHAP. IX. A STORY ABOUT A BLACK HAT, 173

agony. It was his hat, and lie was on the point of exploding
with snppressed rage at seeing his Sunday head-gear used as a
black-board for ^ that wretched gringo.' He glared and scowled
and seemed ready to spring forward and assassinate all three of
us. Mr. Hamilton was quite unconscious that he was raising a
storm, but the President noticed my glance, and, turning his
head, immediately perceived the state of affairs. His smile then
caused our Minister to look, and to drop the hat instantly.
With grim humour (which I fear made the Colonel go over to
the Revolutionary party), the President requested Mr. Hamilton
to continue, as he was much interested ; and then by a few
light touches, which fortunately went in the direction of the
nap, the ascent was completed.

His Excellency General Ygnacio de Veintemilla came into
power by a combination of stratagem and force, and went out
fighting. It is difficult to procure information upon the modern
liistory of this country ; and, in default of a more authoritative
source, I make the following extract from the Catecismo de Geo-
grafia de la Repuhlica del Ecuador, by Juan Leon Mera, Quito,
1875, pp. 180-184.

"During the Presidency of Garcia Moreno," he says, "the nation
entered upon a new life ; order and economy were introduced into the
national finances, part of the floating debt was redeemed ; Brethren of the
Christian Schools, Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and Jesuit Fathers were
brought in to direct public instruction ; and some important public works
were begun, particularly the high road between Quito and Guayaquil. At
the end of 1863, in the interior, a Liberal Revolution was suppressed. . .
In 1864 another Revolution was discovered, and there were revolutionary
movements in Manal)i. . . In 1865 the Revolutionists of Guayaquil seized
the steamer Guayas. The President made, personally, the necessary
arrangements, and went after the enemy. Those ringleaders who fell into
the hands of the conqueror were put to death. . . Peace being re-
established, Jeronimo Carrion succeeded Moreno as President " ; he resigned
in 1867 and Javier Espinosa was elected, but (in 1868) "the effervescence
of parties continued ; people talked openly of a Liberal Revolution, the
Conservative party saw their danger and hastened to make one by re-

174

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

nominating Garcia Moreno on Jan. 16, 1869. The President resigned the
same day, and the Revolution spread over tlie whole liepublic. Meanwhile,
a Revolution in Guayaquil broke out (Mar. 19) which was suppressed.
In December of the same year a conspiracy was discovered in Quito, and
a new Revolution in Cuenca was suppressed. Since that time order has
been established and peace assured, and Ecuador continues on her path
of material and moral progress under the shelter of Republican institutions,
based on the catholic principles which she has determined to adopt."

This little book concludes by stating that Garcia Moreno
was assassinated on August 6, 1875.^ He was succeeded by Dr.
Borrero, who recalled General

Veintemilla from exile, and ~~- , ^

placed him in command at % ^ ^ ^

Guayaquil. The General ad-
vised his patron that he ex-
pected the occurrence of an-
other Revolution, and requested
the troops might be sent from
Quito. Having obtained them
and denuded the Capital < J
soldiers, Veintemilla made tlu
Revolution, and ejected Borrero.
The new President had been in
power about two years at the
time of my visit, though not
always in peaceful possession.
At the end of 1877 some rebels

from the north, joined by a number of Quitonians, compelled
the General to intrench himself in the heart of the city.
Presently the insurgents ran short of ammunition and the others
sallied forth and defeated them. Four hundred Avere said to be
killed in this affair. It was no secret in 1880 that plots were

' He was brutally murdered on the Grand Plaza, in front of the Government
Offices. Moreno is admitted to have been the strongest President of modern times.
He deserved well of his country by the construction of the great road through the
interior, and the introduction of compulsory education.

GARCIA MORENO.

CHAP. IX. PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC. 175

on foot to remove him, and the conspirators would have endeav-
oured to accomplish this at an earlier date if they had seen
their way past his three thousand breechloaders.

The Clericals lost no opportunity of perambulating the streets
with religious processions, and these were treated with respect.
The President made counter-demonstrations with his troops^ by
parading them every day. I noticed that individual Priests
walking about were treated with scant courtesy, and possibly on
this account they appeared little in public. By his opponents.
General Veintemilla was frequently termed the head of the
irreligious party, from his want of harmony with the Church.^
Under his rule, newly-arrived ecclesiastics were refused admittance
to Ecuador,'* and the Jesuits, though not expelled, went more or
less into hiding. He was ultimately ejected in July, 1883, after
gix or eight months of ^volution, and Caamailo was elected
President. His term of office expired in 1888, and now Seiior
Antonio Flores rules the Republic."

' The Church property, though somewhat despoiled, is still very extensive.
The Cathedral, the Jesuits' Church, and the Church of the Immaculate Conception
are the most important religious edifices. The latter was partly destroyed by fire
while I was at Quito, on the night of March 25, 1880 (the night preceding Good
Friday). At a time when the building was crowded, a candle on the High Altar
tumbled over and set the surrounding decorations in a blaze. There was a panic
amongst the congregation and several lives were lost.

' This was the fate of some who arrived at Guayaquil on the same steamer as my-
self. They were sent on board again, having been previously informed that there were
too many of their profession already in the country and recommended to go to Lima.
They could not have looked more unhappy if they had been told to go to Jericho.

^ A President is practically Dictator. See the Report to Mr. Blaine by Mr.
Church from which I have already quoted. He states that the Congress is com-
posed of a Senate and House of Deputies, and that it assembles (usuall}' for sixty
days) every second year. The executive power is confided to the President, who is
assisted by a Council of State. "The large majority of the Council are named by
the President, and are his willing servants." According to Article 80 of the
Constitution, the Council " may confer extraordinary powers " upon the President,
and authorize him ' ' to increase the army, dispose of the public funds, collect taxes
in advance, impose forced loans, change the capital of the country, expatriate or
imprison citizens, etc."

170 TRAVELS AM0NGS2' THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

I feel it unnecessary to say much respecting the manners
and customs of the Ecuadorians. They are a proniising people.
Mr. Hassaurek (who was for several years United States Minister-
Resident at Quito) says ^ : —

The '"custom of making high-sounding promises is universal among
Ecuadorians. . . If you make the acquaintance of one of them, he will
overwhelm you with ofiEers of his services. He will beseech you to ' count
him as one of the number of your friends " ; he will place his house, his
haciendas, his horses at your disposal ; he will ask you to treat him con-
fidentially, and to speak to him frankly, whenever you should need anything
that he can supply ; he will protest his ardent desire to be your friend
and to serve you in every possible manner. . . Should you really apply
to them for any of the services so pompously proffered, you must expect,
as a general rule, that they will find a well-sounding excuse for refusing."

Mr. Hassaurek seems inclined to consider these protestations
as of no greater value than the words '^ your very humble and
obedient servant" at the end of a letter, and as regards the
majority of them his view is possibly correct. No one except an
idiot would be disposed to treat them literally. The difficulty
experienced by strangers is to discriminate between expressions
which are simply flowery, and those which are meant to be sub-
stantial. On various occasions, houses, haciendas, and horses, were
actually placed at my disposal, and gentlemen went out of their
way to render valuable services and unexpected courtesies ; ' and
it would be exceedingly ungracious to ignore these disinterested
actions, even though there were a large number of unredeemed
pledges, and flowers which did not blossom into fruit. As regards
these it is charitable to think with Mr. Church that ''the enthusi-
astic kindness of their hearts frequently causes Ecuadorians to

1 See Four Yeari< among Spanls/i- Americans, by F. Hassaurek, New York, 1867.
The descriptious in this work of the natives and their ways are generally accurate.
In other matters, this author is often unreliable. At p. 119, he says, "For leagues
round Quito scorpions have never been heard of. . . Flies, even, are very rare. . .
The7'e are no lizards, or even bugs or beetles in the grass or on trees.'' ^ These sta,te-
ments are untrue.

CHAP. IX. ECUADORIAN BONDS. 177

make promises small . and greats which afterwards escape their
memory or are beyond their ability to perform/'

Amongst their other salient peculiarities one may point out
that Punctuality, which is esteemed a virtue by some^ they seem
to consider a pernicious vice. Their inveterate habit of procras-
tination, and use of the word manana, has been a theme upon
which every one has written who has dealt with Ecuador. Nothing
is to be done to-day. Everything is jjromised for to-morrow, and
when the morroAV arrives it will be promised for manana again.
The equality of the temperature, and the equality in the length
of the days, and the presumption that to-morrow will be like
to-day, in my opinion, have much to do with this. "It would
be good for these people/' said Jean-Antoine, "to have a winter.'"
The Alpine peasant, well acquainted with its inconveniences and
hardships, felt that upon the whole they acted beneficially by
promoting habits of industry and forethought.

It is less possible to make allowances for their general dis-
position to disregard the sacredness of agreements, to repudiate
contracts, and to advance ulterior claims. Following these prac-
tices, as a natural result, there is universal distrust and want of
confidence. They do not think the same as other people about
these matters ; or, to put it in a different way, their code of
honour is different from ours. In many countries it is considered
complimentary to say " Sir, your Word is as good as your Bond " ;
but, for reasons which need not be pointed out, one is debarred
from the use of that phrase in Ecuador. A foreigner at Quito,
concerned in trade, who from many dealings with the Ecuadorians
was able to speak with some authority, said to me, " I never
consider a transaction terminated unless I give my customer a
whipping.'' It appears that, in this country, the marks of the
whip answer in the place of a receipt-stamp.

These observations apply solely to the white and to the hybrid
population. The Indians have the same hospitable instincts as
the Spanish-Americans, and I am inclined to characterize as their

2 a

178 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

principal infirmity an extreme timidity, lieiglitened by the general,
and all-pervading distrust. The Indian population in Quito bore
a larger proportion to the whites than in the towns we had already
visited.^ I am told that a number still remain of pure descent,
whose ancestors have never contracted alliances with the con-
querors. On the other hand, it is said that such a thing as a
Spanish family of perfectly pure descent is not to be found in
the country. For the most part the Indians lived in the suburbs.
They flocked in every morning, and kept daily market with their
baskets of wares on the three great plazas. I bought from them
the examples of hand-made lace that are given on p. 179, which
competes successfully with importations. It was remarked, too,
that preference was shewn for the thread and calico made at
Chillo, and for the coarse woollens produced at some local fac-
tories, over similar English manufactures, notwithstanding that
the foreign goods could sometimes be obtained at lower rates than
the native ones.

Prices in Ecuador generally ruled high, though there was a
large difference in some matters between what was asked on the
coast and in the interior. Labour at Guayaquil was absurdly
dear, and rents were extravagant, while in the interior both were
low. Foreign goods were expensive all over the country, and
seldom sold for less than three or four times European prices.

A nominal quart bottle of Bass cost one and eightpence to
two shillings at Guaranda, and two shillings at Ambato. At
Latacunga it had risen to three shillings and fourpence, and
that was the price at all places farther to the north. ^ They
asked two shillings and threepence for a threepenny cake of soap
at Ambato. A piece of sponge which might have been obtained
for less than sixpence in England cost me a peso at Quito, and

1 This continued as we progressed north wai-ds. In Cotocachi, Otovalo, and the
surrounding neighbourhood Indians largely outnumbered the whites,

2 Bass' Ale was found all over Ecuador, and was highly appreciated there. At
Quito, an enterprizing German w^as endeavouring to brew. Each of his pint bottles
yielded about a gallon of froth and a tea-cup of beer.

CHAP. IX,

PRICES.

179

•i::i;;«

•i;iP;;:-2;.-M^,^

Si^^,i«»J \<iby '^«k';\4i|ibv^ A ;<^n

'Jm^.^Z'^Jff^^' ~'*^i'.^' J»..-^' J^y---'"'- .^^

ECUADORIAN HAND-MADE LACE.

three shillings and fourpence (ten reals) was the price at the
Capital per pound for English salt. All glass and china was very

180 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

dear there^ partly through the large amount of breakage in transit,
from bad packing.

Native productions were often by no means low in price.
Meat (when it could be got) was cheap, and generally ranged
from twopence-halfpenny to threepence per pound. In the north,
fresh eggs could be bought for four a penny ; while in Guayaquil,
and in the more southern parts, one to two pesos apiece were
demanded for miserable chickens. Spirits of wine cost me three
shillings per pint at Guayaquil, and tenpence at Quito ! At
Otovalo, Cayambe, and other places, brown sugar and unroasted
coffee were each tenpence per pound, though raised in the district.
Common raisins cost three shillings, and camphor four shillings
per pound in Quito. ^

The high prices of foreign commodities were attributed to ex-
cessive duties and the expense of transit. Still, there appeared to
be a good margin left, and I doubt if any one was satisfied with
less than a hundred per cent, profit. Everywhere there appeared
to be openings for commercial enterprize, either for retailers or
for wholesale transactions, yet the country seemed to have little
attraction to Englishmen, for at the time of my stay there were
only three in Quito. "^ Personally, I should not advise any one
to embark a single shilling in Ecuador. There are an unknown
quantity of earthquakes and revolutions to be taken into account.
A man may be rich in one day and wrecked the next. These
possibilities invest trade in this region with the excitement of
gambling, and the trader should also bear in mind that the
repudiation of agreements and the non-fulfilment of contracts
will often upset his calculations and blight his hopes.

These references to prices lead me to conclude this chapter

1 Medicines and fancy goods were sold at larger differences from European prices.
I could have sold my stock of sulphate of quinine for more than its weight in gold.

2 Namely, Mr. Hamilton, British Minister - Kesident ; Mr. Jones, a shopkeeper;
and Mr. Verity, an English mechanic out of employment. Of other foreigners there
were about twenty -five French, a dozen Germans, and ten Italians, Danes and
Swedes.

CHAP. IX. 3I0NEY. 181

with a few words upon the money and the Banking institutions
of Ecuador. At the time my journey was made, money was
reckoned in Pesos and Reals} Eight Reals made a Peso. The
coins most frequently met with were the silver Peso, silver
pieces worth one and two Eeals, and half - Real pieces, termed
Medios. There was a gold coinage not in circulation, and a
silver quarter - Real which was seldom seen. In Guayaquil (and
I believe on the coast generally) bronze coins were not current ;
though they were in general use in the interior, and were said
to be legal tender as far south as Riobamba. At this time the
English Sovereign was worth sixty Reals, and the Peso, there-
fore, was equal to two Shillings and eight Pence.

There were only two banks, namely, the Bank of Ecuador
at Guayaquil, and the Bank of Quito at the Capital. Both of
these institutions issued notes (down to the value of one Peso),
which were accepted as readily as silver, at their full value, and
were very convenient.^

I travelled in Ecuador by means of a Letter of Credit,
entitling me to draw up to the amount of a sum which was
deposited in a London Bank before the letter was issued. I
drew something from the Bank of Ecuador, and received from
that institution a fresh letter of credit to the Bank of Quito.

The amount taken from the Bank of Ecuador was princi-
pally in paper. For small payments it was necessary to have a
considerable quantity of reals and medios, and these were handed
over the counter in a closed bag. Upon being examined, it
appeared that the arithmetic of the Bank differed from that
in common use. Anyhow, the money was short by a serious

' I am informed that the jiresent manner of reckoning money is based on the
har'd or ten real Dollar. The old Peso is no longer recognized. This hard dollar
is called a Hucre^ and is of the same nominal value as the Peruvian Sol^ and the
Chilian and Colombian Dollars.

^ The notes of the Bank of Ecuador circulated everywhere. Those of the Bank
of Quito were accepted in the interior generally, but were refused at Riobamba
and at places more to the south.

182 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. ix.

amount ; but, inasmuch as it was not counted before being taken
away, it was useless to make reclamations.

When proceeding into the interior, these coins Avere often
declined ; for it appeared that the natives have a child - like
desire to see the image and superscription, and absolutely refuse
to take joayment in coin that has got into the condition of an
elderly British sixpence. It curiously happened that in about
one half of the cash I received at Guayaquil one could not
distinguish obverse from reverse. Xo one would accept it, and
at Quito I sold it off as old metal, at less than half its nominal
value, preferring to put up with the loss rather than be incom-
moded any longer by a bag of coin Avhich would not pass. This
is all I have to say at present concerning the Bank of Ecuador.

At Quito mone}^ was drawn Avhen it was required, and before
my departure I proposed to close accounts and to take the
balance. The Bank Manager deducted about four pounds sterling
for what he was pleased to term his •advances." I was unable
to regard as ' advances ' monies which were paid on account of
a sum which had been deposited several months before, though
he assured me that " it was their usual custom." Said I, "your
custom is novel and interesting, and it shall be mentioned in a
book that I intend to write upon my journey, as it is a thing
that ought to be known," and supposed that this would be the
end of the matter.

Shortly afterwards, however, the Bank Manager expressed a
desire to see me, and tendered the money he had stopped, not,
he said with some emphasis, because I Avas going to write a
book, but because he thought " it would be more regular " to
charge the amount to the Bank of Ecuador. I mentally con-
trasted "it is our usual custom" with "it would be more
regular," and only remarked that perhaps the Bank of Ecuador
Avould not take the same view : and upon return to Guayaquil
my surmise proved to be correct, and I found that the Bank of
Ecuador had snapped its fingers at its brother in the Capital.

CHAP. IX. CAUSES AND RESULTS. 183

This is all I have to observe about the Bank of Quito,
except that it is said to be a flourishing institution, paying-
good dividends. The two Banks enjoy, I am told, the privilege
of re - issuing their notes until they are worn out, and refuse
payment of them when certain marks and numbers disappear.
Though this manner of earning a dividend is exceedingly simple
in operation and certain in results, and seems to be accepted by
the people with perfect resignation, it is possible that it is one
of the various causes which produce the universal mistrust of
each other and of everybody that is exhibited throughout the
country.

BEETLE-WING EARRING.

THE HACIENDA OF ANTISANA.

CHAPTER X.

THE FIRST ASCENT OF AJ^TISAJ^A.

We^ left Quito for Antisana on March 4, the day following my
interview with the President ; and crossing the Pnengasi ridge,
descended into the basin of Chillo. This is another of those large
(almost saucer-shaped) depressions which it seems to me are more
appropriately termed hasins than valleys. It is, however, often
called the valley of Ohillo, after a small village on its southern
edge, where there is a cotton factory belonging to the Aguirre
family.^ '

* To rep] ace Mr. Perring, who left me at Quito, I engaged a Mr. Verity, an
English mechanic who had recently terminated an engagement at the Chillo factory.
He continued with me until the beginning of May, and I found his acquaintance with
the country round Quito very useful.

2 This is one of the old, noble families of Ecuador. Under the Republican
levelling they were deprived of their title, Marquis de Selvalegre.

CHAP. X. THE BASIN OF CHILLO. 185

This basin is bounded on the east by Antisana, which is one
of the loftiest of the Equatorial Andes, and is amongst those that
extend over a great space of ground. From east to west, that
part of it which is 12,000 feet above the sea or higher, covers
about twenty miles/ and from north to south it is not much less
extensive. On the south, the basin is enclosed by Sincholagua ;
on the west, by Pasochoa and the Puengasi ridge ; and on the
north by the southern end of an important block of mountains
(of which there is no indication on my map) called Guamani,^
that extends right up to the Equator, and on the west almost
touches the village of Pifo. The drainage of this basin, united
with the Rio Pita (coming from Cotopaxi), and with the Rio
Grrande from the basin of Machachi, intersects the Plain of Tum-
baco, and falls ultimately into the Rio de Guallabamba.

During our passage across the basin of Chillo, I did not at
any time get a glimpse of a single one of these surrounding mount-
ains ; and seldom saw more than two or three miles in any
direction, often not so much as a mile. I did not see a single
feature from which bearings for positions could be obtained, and
our track as far as the Hacienda of Antisanilla is accordingly laid
down from dead reckoning. The bottom of this basin is consider-
ably lower, and its temperature is appreciably higher than that of
Quito.*

Shortly before my departure from Europe, Boussingault pub-
lished in the Comptes Reyidus of the French Academy of Sciences

1 On the west, Antisana may be considered to extend as far as the Hacienda of
Pifiantura (10,308 R. & S.)

^ The ramifications of Guamani, so far as I am aware, have never been explored.
Nothing is known of its eastern side. In the month of April, I overlooked this
region from the north, and fonnd there were no peaks in it fairly within the
snow-line.

^ Though the land here was more under cultivation than the greater part of the
country we had traversed, the inhabitants were miserably off for food. Potato soup
was the only article of diet that could be relied upon. All our provisions were
taken from Quito.

2 B

186 TRAVELS AMONOST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

some ^[eteorological observations^ Avhicli were said to have been
made by Sefior Carlos Aguirre, thirty-three years before, at the
Hacienda of x\ntisana. These observations had a particular in-
terest for me, for they gave information respecting the weather
we were likely to experience at great heights in the neigh-
bourhood of the Equator. It appeared from them that the
elevated farm where they were made enjoyed a very equable
temperature, and was abundantly provided with fogs. Tempera-
ture was highest in January and lowest in August, and the
mean for the year (1846) was found to be 5° '18 C. (equal to a
little more than 41° Faht.). In 375 days there were recorded
130 of fog, 122 rainy, 36 with snow, and only 34 on which the
sky was visible."

After crossing the Rio Pita,^ the weather kept up its character,
and black thunder-clouds gathered in all directions. Foreseeing
the tempest, we hurried for shelter to a large farm, the Hacienda
Oolegio, and just escaped a tremendous downpour. The sudden
irruption of a score of men and beasts was treated as a matter
of course. We were received with the greatest urbanity, and on
leaving at 4.45 on the following morning were provided with a
guide as far as the small village of Pintac — midway between the

^ Beterminatmt de la hauteur da mercure dans le harometre sous Pequateicr ;
amplitude des variations diurnes barometriques d diverses stations dans les Cordilleres,
par M. Boussiugault. Comptes JRendus hebdomadaires des seances de VAcad. des
Sciences, tome Ixxxviii., No. 24.

^ Upon my return (through a reference made by Dr. W. Reiss) I found that these
observations had also appeared in the Comptes Rendus in 1851 (tome xxxii.) There
are numerous discrepancies between these papers. In the one published in 1879 it is
stated that the greatest observed diurnal variation of the barometer (in 1846) was
1-65 mm., on April 27 ; while in the other paper there is a record of 1'69 mm., on
March 12, 1846. The mean annual temperature is said in vol. Ixxxviii. to have
been 5°-18 C, and in vol. xxxii. it is seen to have been 4°-86 C. It is desirable
that some one should point out which of these two papers is to be considered
authoritative.

3 The Rio Pita was running very rapidly here. Our animals crossed it by
swimming, and were carried down about a quarter of a mile before they came
to land.

CHAP. X. RENCONTRE WITH SENOR REBOLLEDO. 187

two places passing over some road that was several degrees worse
than the Camino Real between Mufiapamba and Tambo Gobierno,
with mud two to three feet deep. I had been rebuked in Quito
for objecting to that ' Royal ^ route, because our animals had sunk
halfway up their flanks. Upon asking my monitor what he con-
sidered a bad road, he said, " A road is bad when the beasts tumble
into mud - holes and vanish right out of sight. '^ This nearly
occurred at one place. Our narrow track (at this spot, a mere
rut between two walls of earth) divided. On the right there was
a steep and greasy passage, and on the left a pool, eight or ten
feet across. My animal stopped on the brink, unwilling to pro-
ceed. Dismounting, I gave it a touch with the whip, it went head
first into the slough, and emerged on the other side a miserable
object, dripping with filth, which for a second had risen above its
hindquarters. This mud-hole was about four feet deep, and was
the finest we discovered in Ecuador.

On quitting Pintac, however, the track became better, and
highly interesting ; at some parts leading between deep, mossy
banks laden with semi - tropical ferns and creepers, underneath
branches and roots, and crossing sparkling streams — rare things
in this country. After passing the large farm of Pinantura,^ our
ardour was damped by one of the afternoon deluges, and when
this ceased we found our path ran roughly parallel to a great
stream of lava, which descended from the clouds, and spread out
into the valley of the Isco.

AVhilst winding in and out of the bends, amongst the arched
foliage, in advance of the others, I was surprised — not having met
a soul in the course of the day — to see a grave and very unshaven
man approaching, well mounted on a fast ambler ; by dress, as
Avell as by demeanour, evidently no common wayfarer. He drew
rein, and there was scarcely time to wonder who was this dis-
tinguished stranger before another horseman cantered round the

1 Insects were abundant here, and several novelties were secured whilst on the
march. See Supp. App., pp. 20 and 60.

188 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

farther corner, and another, and then they came by twos and
threes, until I saw thirty or more, rising and falling over the
undulating ground like buoyant ships on a breezy sea ; jovial,
wild-looking fellows, picturesquely attired in sombreros and with
legs encased in hairy buskins, all riding powerful horses, and
sitting like men born in the saddle. As they came up, they
halted at a respectful distance behind their lord. I sent Verity
forward to make enquiries ; and then, after formally saluting,
each party went its way.

I was not aware until the train had swept past that we had
met Senor Eebolledo, the owner of Antisana, of the farms of
Pifiantura, Antisanilla, Antisana and all the intervening country,
and other large estates ; the proprietor of a princely domain,
unlimited on the Amazonian side. If one enquired how far it
extended, they answered, '^ As far as you can go to the East "
— it had no boundaries in that direction.

They had been engaged in a grand stock-taking ; and, as the
cattle ranged over many miles and had to be driven in from
long distances, the work was too much for the usual hands, and
major-domos had been borrowed from the surrounding properties
to assist in the operation. Judging from their hilarity, the
census was satisfactory. Senor Rebolledo heard somehow that we
were without cheese, and sent a quantity after us. A messenger
came daily to the Hacienda of Antisana to learn our wants, and
I had only to express a desire to have it satisfied. '^'^Tell me,^'
I said, when we were better acquainted, ^' why do you shower
these civilities upon me ? " and received no other answer than '' I
took to you from the first. '^

In a short time after passing this splendid troop, the track
dipped down to cross the Isco rivulet, and we arrived at the
Hacienda Antisanilla (12,342 feet), a small place built alongside
the lava - stream of which I have spoken — rather densely popu-
lated by savage dogs, and by herdsmen who were not so refined
in the matter of cleanliness as one might have wished. I could

CHAP. X. THE HACIENDA OF ANTISANA, 189

not trust myself upon the beds which they politely vacated (loose
straw strewn over wooden bunks) and passed the night by
preference on the top of a four-foot table.

The length of the lava-stream of Antisanilla can hardly be
less than seven to eight miles. I clambered to the top^ and got
little reward, for the farther side, as well as its upper and lower
extremities, Avere lost in mist. Its red colouring is probably
superficial, and the nucleus of the mass, I conjecture, is a very
dark and compact lava, specimens of which were broken out with
some labour.^ The surface was extremely rugged, and bore an
amazing quantity of the lichen Usnea florida, Fries.

On the morning of March 6 we left for the Hacienda of
Antisana, led by one of Senor Eebolledo's people, who dismounted
from time to time, and lit the grass to shew the way to our
laggards. The Hacienda was a barn-like building, occupying one
side of a large enclosure for herding cattle ; and had remained,
I was told, unaltered since the visit of Humboldt. We took up
quarters on the first floor, and kept constant watch from its
little gallery for the appearance of Antisana, which had been
completely invisible during the last few days. We should not,
indeed, have had the slightest suspicion that we were in the
neighbourhood of a mountain of the first rank, or a mountain of
any kind, if the herdsmen had not told us the contrary.

In the course of the afternoon the mists opened lazily, and
revealed bits here and there, and then drifted across and shut
them out.'-^ These occasional glimpses lasted only a few minutes

1 " A black, sub-vitreous rock, containing small crystals of white felspar, whose
diameter is commonly not more than 0-125 inch. The general aspect of the
specimen shews it to be one of the darker varieties of andesite, a member of the
group of rocks that have been variously named melaphyre, pitchstone-porphyrite,
etc. . . The rock on the whole agrees best with augite-andesite. Its specific
gravity, determined by Mr. J. J. H. Teall, is 2-656."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Proc.
lioijal Soc, March 13, 1884.

2 The view facing p. 190 has been constructed from several photographs which I
took at this time. We did not see so much of the mountain at any single moment.

190 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. x.

or seconds, and shewed that the mountain had not the simplicity
of form that we had supposed. At such distances as it had
previously been seen (25 to 30 miles) the minor details were
indistinguishable, and the crest had seemed to be a long, un-
interrupted, snowy ridge. It now became apparent that its
structure was more complicated ; and, if the mountain had been
viewed for the first time from the Hacienda, we might have
been in doubt as to the position of the highest point. ^

From these fragmentary glimpses, I made out that the upper
3500 feet of Antisana were almost absolutely covered by snow
and glacier, and that on an ascent we should not touch rock at
all. The summit bore 50° E. of N. (magnetic) from the Hacienda,
and the base of the nearest glacier had almost exactly the same
bearing.^ The main course of this ice-stream occupied the hollow
in the centre of the view, and at its superior extremity was
fissured by large and very long crevasses ; higher still there were
many compound fractures, and the summit of the mountain was
protected by an enormoas schrund, forming a moat, which was
obviously impassable on the west and north. I proposed to make
for the nearest glacier ; and, after ascending the trough or hollow,
to bear to the left with the view of reaching the summit from the
south. Anticipating that nothing would be gained by waiting, I
gave the order to march.

We started from the Hacienda of Antisana at 4.35 a.m., on
March 7, and steering N.E. (under the guidance of some of the
herdsmen, who had a perfect acquaintance with the lower slopes)
got to the base of the glacier (15,295 feet) at 6.40; having lost
some time by the disappearance of a certain impetuous person
who could not brook local leaders.^ Our animals were left here,

1 The true summit of Antisana lies underneath the asterisk at the top of tlie
engraving.

2 This glacier is concealed by clouds in the engraving.

3 Jean-Antoine always endeavoured to be in front, and on several occasions
caused trouble by getting out of touch. He was cured of this habit by something
that occurred on Cayambe.

0mmmmmMm0m0> '^

CHAP. X. BEATEN ON ANTISANA. 191

and we proceeded on foot, by moraine on the northern side
(right bank) of tlie glacier, nearly seven hundred feet higher in
forty minutes ; and then, arriving at the termination of land,
dismissed the natives, who up to this point had carried the
baggage. The elevation of this place was 15,984 feet above
the sea.

We roped up at once,^ and took to the ice at 7.30 a.m.
Only the first part of it was free from snow, and it was highly
crevassed ; but, as the fissures were small at the beginning, we
were able to keep a direct course for about an hour, at this time
passing alongside the serrated ridge that is shewn on the right
of the engraving," having the upper part of the mountain free
from cloud. The glacier then steepened, and became broken up
into seracs (nearly invisible from below) which required much
cutting, and beating down to consolidate the snow-bridges lead-
ing from o]ie to another. Some of these passages were very
complicated, and extensive circuits had to be made to avoid the
largest crevasses. At 10.30 a.m. the mists caught us up, and
half an hour later we arrived at a prodigious schrund, not less
than two hundred feet deep and some sixty feet wide. We
wasted more than two hours in attempts to cross it, and I spoilt
my eyes by vainly endeavouring to see into the invisible. At
last it was found that we had run into a nd-de-sac, and had to
retreat. At 1.20 p.m. we turned to descend,^ and by 5.55 were
back at the hacienda.

^ Although not necessarj' to do so at this stage, it woiihl have been at a later
one. It conduced to regularity in the march.

To the advantages to be derived from the use of the rope in mountaineering
which are set forth at pp. 372-377 of Scrambles amongst the Alps may be added that
it tends to produce a better average rate of speed. The pace of a party is deter-
mined by that of its slowest member. When tied up, the rapid or impetuous ones
cannot rush away, and the slow-coaches are urged on,

2 The points on this ridge ^vere decorated with tufted cornices. See p. 133.

"^ The place at which we turned back was 17,623 feet above the sea. It was
found afterwards that we had borne too much to the right, and had been going
away from the summit.

192 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

It appears from a passage in the Comptes Rendus (vol. Ixxxviii.,
p. 1241) ^ that Boiissingault was affected on Antisana by snow-
blindness, and I had a similar unpleasant experience on the 7th of
March. Though the harm was done between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
(through uncovering the eyes to use my field-glass), it did not
manifest itself for some hours later. In the course of the even-
ing I became unable to see, and remained in that condition for
twenty-four hours. Verity sat up through the night handing
rags dipped in a solution of sulphate of zinc, changing them
when they grew hot, and this occurred in a few minutes after
each application.

The affection that is termed ' snow-blindness ^ is inflammation
of the eyes. They become extraordinarily sensitive to light. The
lids refuse to open ; tears come freely, and coagulating round the
lashes glue the lids fast. To apply a lotion effectively, the lids
must be forced open, and the instant this is done the patient will
imagine that red-hot needles are being driven through the eyes
into the brain. The pain is acute, and sometimes makes strong
men howl.*^

Snow-blindness has long been known to Indians dwelling • in
the Andes. Acosta, writing three centuries ago, mentions a remedy
that they applied, which reminds one of the raw beefsteaks used
by prize-fighters.

^ " Pendant mon ascension, je fus atteint subitement d'une ophthalmie des plus
graves, causee par la reverberation des neiges. Oblige de retourner a Quito, je dus
renoncer a continuer les observations que j'avais commenc6es a la m6tairie."

2 Medical men recommend two or three grains of sulphate of zinc to an ounce of
water. In practice, I find that the solution may be made stronger, with safety and
benefit, and that six, eight or ten grains to the ounce is not too much to use.
Although the inflammation may be reduced quickly, and the absolute inability to
see may soon pass away, the eyes remain tender and weak for a long time (after a
bad attack, even for weeks or months) and they are more liable to be affected than
before, unless extra precautions are taken.

PuflSng and cracking of the skin, and snow-blindness, can be avoided by keeping
the face covered, and by using tinted snow-spectacles. My usual appearance at
great elevations on this journey is shewn at p. 80.

CHAP. X. SNOW- BLINDNESS. 193

"Comming," ho says, "one night into a Tambo or Inne, being much
afflicted with paine in mine eies, thinking they would fall out, the which
dooth commonly happen in those partes, for that they passe thorow places
covered with snow, which is the cause of this accident, being troubled with
this paine, and out of patience, there came an Indian woman, which said to
me, * Father, lay this to thine eies, and thou shalt be cured.' It was a peece
of the flesh of vicunas, newly killed and all bloody. I vsed this medicine,
and presently the paine ceased, and soone after went quite away." ^

On the evening of March 8 I began to recover sight,^ and
planned another attempt to scale the misty monntain. I cherished
great expectations of a boundless view on the eastern side, when
looking down upon the basin of the Amazons — the largest forest-
covered region in the world. The only two known ways out of
Ecuador, through the Andes, to the great South American river,
are those which lead through Papallacta ^ for the Napo route, and
through Bafios for the Pastassa. These places are about ninety
miles apart, and nothing is known of the intervening country, or
of that more north and south. The trails on these routes pass
through forest. No distant vistas are possible, and our knowledge
of the region has scarcely advanced since it was first made known,
shortly after the Spanish Conquest.

I conjectured that the atmospheric conditions on Antisana
strongly resembled those which prevailed on Chimborazo, where
it had frequently been noticed, from our Second and Third Camps,
that the clouds sank below 10,000 feet at the approach of night,
and left the higher regions clear. With the return of day they
again mounted, or were re-created, around the summits. The
complicated ice - navigation near the top of Antisana could not

^ Quoted from The Natural and Moral History of the Indies, by Father Joseph
de Aeosta (reprinted from the English translated edition of Edward Grimston, 1604,
for the Hakluyt Society, 1880 ; vol. 1, pp. 287-8).

2 The right e3'e remained painful for two months, and did not recover until
return to Europe.

^ Papallacta, according to Dr. M. Villavicensio, means ' country of potatoes.'
It is the name of a small village, lying, I am told, about as far to the north of the
summit of Antisana as the Hacienda of Antisanilla lies to the Avest of it.

194 TRAVELS A3I0NQST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

be effected in a fog. It was necessary to see where we were going,
and to arrive at this part at an early hour, before the mists had
risen. It was therefore arranged to camp out, at the edge of the
glacier, as high as natives could be taken.

On March 9, at 12.55 p.m., we started again ; got the caravan
to the foot of the moraine at 2.40, and all the baggage up to the
camping - place (15,984 feet) by 4 p.m. Our natives with Verity
then returned to the hacienda, leaving us at the extreme top of
the moraine^ on the right bank of the glacier, which forms a tail
or lower prolongation of the basin in the centre of the engraving.
A fierce hail-storm occurred while we were on the way, and snow
fell heavily afterwards ; yet the temperature did not descend so
low as the freezing-point in the night, and at 4 a.m. on the 10th
it stood at 40° -5 Faht.

The weather seemed very doubtful in the morning, and we
delayed until daybreak, to see how it would develop. The Carrels
and I got away at 5.38 a.m., and travelled quickly, through deriv-
ing considerable benefit from the track made on the 7th, which
was well seen, although several inches of snow had recently fallen.
At 7.30 a.m. clouds formed around the highest point of the mount-
ain, and it remained invisible until the afternoon. At about 8
a.m., when approaching the summit ridge, we got into a labyrinth
of crevasses, and had difficulty in finding a way amongst them.
The chasms in the ice on the upper part of Antisana are of great

^ The moraine on which we encamped contained samples of the upper rocks of
Antisana that had come from various heights and directions. All were lavas, —
some compact and others scoriaceous. Several of the more compact varieties are
very handsome rocks when polished, in colour ranging from lavender-grey to purple-
black. No rocks could be obtained higher than the camp. Such as were exposed
were in inaccessible positions.

My collection has been examined by Prof. T. G. Bonney, and is described by
him at length in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Mar. 13, 1884. " The rocks
which form the actual peak of Antisana," he says, " are augite-andesites, containing
at any rate occasionally hypersthene, and to the same group belongs, though perhaps
it is slightly more basic, the rock of the great lava-stream which has descended
to Antisanilla."

CHAP. X. ON THE SUMMIT OP ANTISANA. 195

size, — some, as much as half a mile long, two hundred and fifty
feet deep, and sixty to eighty feet across. One of the larger ones
was crossed by a snow-bridge ; and, although tied widely apa,rt,
all of us were on the bridge at the same time. Above this the
slopes steepened, and ominous cracking sounds occurred. All
three exclaimed simultaneously, ''I fear an avalanche."^ But no
snow-slip happened, and presently the gradients lessened, ceased,
and the slopes fell away in front. '^ My cherished dream of a
boundless view over the Amazonian basin was annihilated in
that instant. Nothing could be seen through the mists that
encircled the mountain. The snow still rose on our left, and we
bent round to the north, and after a few hundred yards it fell
away on that side. Then we bore north-west, west, south-west,
south, south-east and round to north again, always keeping the
rising snow against the left shoulder. At last we could perceive
no tendency to rise or fall in any direction, and came upon a
nearly level plain of snow, lost in mist on all sides. This was
the summit.

It was still early in the day, and we reposed upon the snow,
around the barometer, in air so calm that it could scarcely be
said to blow from any quarter. At 10.20 a.m. the barometer

^ I overruled Jean-Antoine on this occasion. He wished to take the slope trans-
versely, and I insisted upon going straight up, holding the opinion that that course
was less likely to disturb the equilibrium of the slope than by making a groove
across it.

These cracking sounds are produced by snow on the lower parts of slopes slipping
down and being divided from the snow above. Sometimes the fissures that are
caused are nearly invisible (scarcely the eighth of an inch across) or they may be
inches or feet wide. This depends upon the extent of the slip. If the snow above
has got good hold it may remain immovable, notwithstanding the division ; but,
more usually, through being deprived of support, some of it slips down against the
part which has already yielded, and the shock causes the face of the slope to peel off
in an avalanche. See the impressive narrative by Mr. P. C. Gosset in the Appendix
to Scrambles amongst tJie Alps.

2 We struck the summit-ridge about half an inch to the right of the asterisk
on the engraving.

196 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

(reduced to 32° Faht.) read 15*129 inclies, with air temperature
53°-5, and at 11.20 a.m. (red. to 32° Faht.), 15-154 inches, air
temp. 56° Faht. In the hour and forty minutes we remained
on the top ^ temperature in the shade ranged from 44° to 60°
Faht./ though the highest temperature observed at the Hacienda
during our stay there was only 49°. Thus, the lowest tempera-
ture experienced on the summit of Antisana (44°), more than
19,000 feet above the level of the sea, surrounded by ice and
snow in every direction for several miles, was only 5° less than
the highest temperature observed at the farm, six thousand feet
lower. Such an occurrence is unprecedented in my experience.
Mr. Ellis, in calculating the height of Antisana, has employed,
at my request, the means of the readings at 10.20 a.m., and
11.20 a.m., in conjunction with an 11 a.m. observation by Mr.
Chambers at Guayaquil (mere. bar. red. to 32° Faht., 29*912
inches, with air temp. 80° Faht.), and his deduced altitude for
the summit is 19,335 feet. If this determination and that
subsequently made of Cayambe are correct, Antisana is the third
in rank of the Great Andes of the Equator.^

1 We arrived on the summit at 10 a.m., and left it at 11.40 a.m.

2 March 10, 1880. Summit of Antisana (19,335 ft.) . 10.20 a.m. 53°-5 Faht.

Do.

I used on this occasion the thermometer attached to the mercurial barometer ;
a mercurial maximum thermometer ; a quick-acting plain mercurial thermometer ;
and a spirit minimum thermometer. The first-named of these was verified at Kew
Observatory, and was re-compared upon return. 1 give in Appendix A a facsimile
of the Kew certificate of verification.

At 10 a.m. on March 9 at the Hacienda of Antisana, temperature in the shade
was ■43°*5 Faht.; at 10 a.m. on March 11 it was 45°; and at 11.40 a.m., on the
6th, it Avas 48°.

3 See my remarks on this subject in Appendix A. According to La Condamine
and Reiss & Stiibel, Antisana is the fourth in rank of the Great Andes of the
Equator (La Condamine, 19,313 ; R. «fe S., 18,885 feet).

do.

10.30

ct.lli

.50° -0

do.

10.85

45° -0

do.

10.45

45° -0

do.

11.15

50° -0

do.

11.20

56° -0

CHAP. X. CRATERS AND CREVASSES. 197

After we had descended a short distance the clouds cleared
sufficiently to let it be seen that we had been on the top, and
to shew that the snowy portion of the mountain extends for a
long distance to the north-east. As there was still time to
spare, we made a detour, in search of craters, to the curved
ridge which connects the nearer peaks of Antisana with the more
distant ones in the engraving ; and looked down upon some
exceedingly precipitous glacier on the other side. We saw no
open crater, nor anything suggestive of one on any part of
Antisana ; though, on March 7, when arrested at the edge of the
great crevasse, several puffs of strongly sulphurous vapour reached
us. Dr. W. Eeiss, however, says,^ in the Proceedings of the Geo-
graphical Society of Berlin for 1880, that there is a crater, opening
towards the east, filled with a glacier (from which a stream flows
that is impregnated with sulphur), and I presume that he must
refer to the glacier basin we saw beneath us.

An hour later we were at the bottom of the snow-slopes,
with only about a mile of slightly descending and nearly flat
glacier between ourselves and the tent, — having just discussed
whether the rope should be taken off, to move with greater
freedom, and decided against it, as we were so near home ;
striding along at our best pace, about fifteen feet apart, Louis in
front and Jean-Antoine last, keeping step as we walked. In the
twinkling of an eye the surface gave way, and I shot down, as
it were through a trap-door, nearly pulling both men over ; and
in the next second found myself dangling between two varnished
walls of glacier, which met seventy feet beneath.

The voices of the cousins were nearly inaudible, for the hole
was no bigger than my body, and they could not venture to

1 "Der Antisana umschliefst einen tiefen, nach Osten geoffneten Krater, in
dessen Grunde die iiber die steilen Wande herabziehenden Sclinee und Eismassen
sich zu einem mactitigen Gletseher ansammeln. Dem Gletscher, dessen unteres
Ende in 4216 m. Hohe liegt, entspringt der sauere, mil Schwefel geschw^ngerte
Bach der Quehrada ^ Piedra Azufre,'' dessen Namen schon auf eine, wenn auch
noch so geringe vulkanische Thatigkeit hinweist."

198 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

approach it. With slow and anxious pulls they hauled away,
fearing that the rope would be severed by the glassy edges ; but,
before my head touched the bridge, more of the brittle structure
yielded, and I went down again. This was repeated several
times, and then Jean-Antoine, seeing that their efforts must be
ineffectual so long as they were on opposite sides, leaped the
chasm ; and, with united pulls, the two cousins landed me with
a jerk, through the frozen vault and its pendent icicles, on to
the surface, poorer by a cap, though not otherwise the worse for
the immersion.^ In twenty minutes we arrived at the camp,
where the others were already in waiting, and by 6.40 p.m. we
were back at the Hacienda, having spent some time on the way
in adding to our collection;^ ^

The Hacienda of Antisana is reputed to be the highest farm
in Ecuador, and it owes its existence to the grazing that is
afforded by the surrounding slopes. The cattle seemed to find
upon them quite sufficient pasturage, though the grasses in general
were not so luxuriant as upon Ohimborazo, and other places at

1 It is usually considered unnecessary to be tied up when traversing glacier
that is not covered by snow. This incident shews the contrary. After my extrica-
tion, we examined the crevasse, and found that it was several hundred feet long,
and seven feet wide where I broke through. It differed from all others that we
had ever seen in being bridged by ice. This was only an inch or two thick in
the centre, though more substantial where it sprang from the walls of the crevasse.
It could neither be detected by any ' droop ' on the surface nor by ' sounding ' in
the usual manner. We had crossed it three times without being aware of its
existence. Its formation was no doubt due to the peculiar meteorological conditions
which prevail in the Andes of the Equator ; and, as there was a strong probability
that there were more of the same kind, we considered it advisable to use a double
rope on subsequent traverses of Ecuadorian glaciers.

^ The ascent of Antisana was effected at a better rate than usual, owing to
the assistance derived from our old track. Leaving camp (15,984 feet) at 5.38
a.m., at 10 a.m. we were on the summit (19,335 feet). Including halts, this ascent
was therefore made at the rate of 767 feet per hour. We started from the summit
at 11.40 a.m., and were back at camp by 2.20 p. m. Including the loss of time
from the detour and the crevasse incident, the descent was made at the rate of
1340 feet per hour.

CHAP. X. FLORA OF ANTISANA. 199

greater heights than thirteen thousand feet. The flora here,
whilst interesting from its characteristic Andean species, had few
other attractions, — yet the flowers of Gentiana foliosa, H.B.K.,
were somew^hat showy ; the downy heads of Culcitiiim were not
without a certain grace ; and not far from the Hacienda, at about
14,000 feet, we found the elegant fern Polypodium heteromorphum,
Hook. & Grev. This was, Avith one exception, the highest
position at Avhich we obtained ferns in Ecuador. The examples
of the Orders which are mentioned in the footnote,^ marked by
asterisks, were found on the western slopes of Antisana at greater
elevations than the same species were noticed elsewhere. '^

^ The following- is a list of oui- gatherings upon Antisana. Lichens : — Lecidea
sp., Autisanilla (12,342); Neuropogon meldxantlius, Nyl., at our camp (16,000);
Stereocaulon sp., Autisanilla (12,342) ; Stereocaulon sp. at our camp (16,000) ; Usnea
Jlorida, Fries, Autisanilla (12,342). Fungi : — Omphalia umbelUfera, Fr. (13,000) ;
Biilocyhe sp. (13,000), both from the slopes below the Hacienda of Antisana.
Lycopodiaceae : — Lycopodium jSaururus, L. (15-16,000). Filices : — Polypodium
vidgare, L., Autisanilla (12,342), and P. rigidum, Hook. & Grev., Autisanilla
(12,342), both growing among hollows on the luargin of the lava-stream close to
the Hacienda ; P. heteromorphum, Hook. & Grev., on the slopes above the
Hacienda of Antisana (14,000). Gramineae : — Beyeuxia recta, Bonpl. (13,300-
15,000) ; Deyeiixia sp. (14,000) ; Luzida alopectirus, Desv. (14,000) ; Poa sp.
(14,000); Festuca mollis, Kth. (14,000). Gentianaceae : — Oentiana foliosa, H.B.K.
(14-15,000); G. rupicola, H.B.K. (14-15,000); G. sedifolia, H.B.K. (14,500).
Ericaceae: — Pernettia PeyitlandU, DC. (14-14,500); ^Vaccinium x^enceoides, H.B.K.
(15-16,000). Compositae : — '* Achyrophorus, near setoaus, Wedd., at our camp
(16,000); Baccharis alplua, H.B.K. (14-14,500); Oulcitmm adscendens, Kth.
04-15,000); a nivale, Kth. (14-15,000); * (7. refiexum, Kth. (15-16,000); * Lori-
caria ferruginea, Pers. (15-16,000) ; Perezia pungens, Less. (14,500) ; Werneria sp.
(14,500); Werneria de7isa, Benth. (1.5-16,000). Leguminosae : — Astragalus gemini-
florus, H.B.K. (14-15,000) ; * Lupinus microphyllus, Desv. (14,500) ; Lupinus sp.
(14-15,000); *i. mtbigemis, H. & B. (15,000). Geraniaceae : — (^emmMm sp.
(14,500). Malvaceae : — Malvastrum phyllanthos, Asa Gray (15-15,500) ; * J/. P-
chinchense, Asa Gray (15-16,000); Malvastrum sp. (15,000). Carophyllaceae : —
* Cerastiimi sp. (14-15,000). Cruciferae : — Z>m6a obovata, Benth. (14-15,000); * 2>.
arctioides, H.B.K. (15-16,000); Braba sp. (15-16,000); B. imbricata, C A. Mey.
(15-16,000). Ranunculaceae : — Ranuncidus Peruvianus, Pers. (14-15,000).

2 For fuel at our camp on Antisana (and at the higher ones generally) we
depended principally upon Lycopodium Saururus, L., aud Loricaria ferruginea,

200

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

The Beetles that were obtained in the neighbourhood of the
Hacienda were mostly new to us at the time/ Diptera were
represented by about half a dozen species, and several hymenop-
terous insects (including IchneiimonidcB) attained their greatest
altitude here. For the reception of a slender Bug that we cap-
tured, Mr. Distant has erected the genus Neomiris. Of Butterflies

we saw only four species, three of
which {Lymanopoda tener, Hew.,
Lyccena kod, Druce, and Pieris xan-
thodice, Lucas) are amongst the
most common and most widely
distributed in Ecuador ; but the
fourth, a small Colias taken in the
immediate vicinity of our camp,
had not been seen since we left
Chimborazo.^ As we sat in the
quaint little gallery of the Haci-
enda after our return from Anti-
sana, our poor, old, battered lantern
again proved our best nocturnal
collector, and attracted a numerous company of Moths, from which
I secured seven species in about as many minutes.^

On the next day we turned our attention to Condors. In

Pers. Drabas and Wernerias were abundant and came in usefully. It was,
however, always difficult to obtain fuel, and a large part of the time of my assistants
was usually occupied in collecting the quantity necessary for cooking. At the
higher camps, we could never afford to have fires for the sake of warmth.

^ Seven species were new to science, and are described in the Supplementary
Appendix, namely, Pterostichus {Agraphoderus) Antisance, Bates (p. 10) ; P. (Agraph.)
liodes, Bates (p. 11) ; Colpodes megacephalun, Bates (p. 13) ; C. aUicola, Bates (p. 21) ;
BemMdium fulvocinctum, Bates (p. 22) ; Clavipalpus Antisance, Bates (p. 27) ; and
Hilipus longicolUs, Olliff (p. 75), Several of these were discovered by my assistants,
who worked zealously while I was incapacitated.

^ Described as Colias alticola by Messrs. Godman & Salvin, Sup]}. App., p\ 107.

3 Three belonging to the genera Cidaria, Bariza, and Scordylia, and four other
very distinct species which have not yet been identified.

OUR BEST NOCTURNAL COLLECTOR.

CHAP. X. FLIGHTS OF THE IMAGINATION. 201

Aspects of Nature, vol. 2, p. 4, Humboldt says this bird often
soared over liis head ^^ above all the summits of the Andes ^^; and
at p. 41 of the same volume he observes^ ^'^ It is a remarkable
physiological phenomenon, that the same bird, which can fly in
circles for hours in regions of the atmosphere so rarefied, should
sometimes suddenly descend, as on the western declivity of the
Volcano of Pichincha, to the sea-shore, thus passing rapidly
through all gradations of climate/^ Mr. James Orton, late Pro-
fessor of Natural History in Vassar College, improves upon this,
and states that the Condor '^ can dart in an instant from, the dome
of Chimborazo to the sultry coast of the Pacific. ^^ The shores of
that Ocean are nowhere less than one hundred and twenty miles
from the mountain ; and if my schoolboy readers will multiply
sixty by sixty, and then by one hundred and twenty, they will
find the rate (in miles) per hour, at which the Condor can fly,
according to Professor Orton.* They will probably wonder at
the keenness of eyesight which enabled him to trace this light-
ning rapidity ; and will be disposed to enquire how he was
advised of the arrival on the shores of that sultry coast of
the particular Condor which started from the frigid dome. As
these flights of the imagination may lead some to suppose that
the Condor has a very great range in altitude on the Equator ;
that it habitually soars at extraordinary elevations ; and that it
flies with immense rapidity, I venture to give some of our own
observations.

When we were upon Chimborazo, I was, at first, a little appre-

Between Antisanilla and Pinantura I also captured a species of Opisogonia ; and,
in the lower part of the Chillo basin, an Agrotis, Eupyra regalis, Her, Schf. (the
most handsome moth I saw in the interior of Ecuador), Sangala necyria, Feld. & R.,
and Scotosia dubiferata, Walk.

' Professor Orton, along with four others, travelled from Guayaquil to Quito in
1867, and thence down the Amazons to Para ; and subsequently wrote a book
entitled The Andes and the Amazo7i. This journey *' was made under the auspices
of the Smithsonian Institution." The quotation is from p. 106 of the English
edition, published by S. Low, Son and Marston, 1870.

2 D

202 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

hensive that we might attract the attention of these formidable
birds. They were numerous round about the mountain. When
the atmosphere permitted us to look below, we commonly saw a
dozen on the wing at the same time. They were seen daily, and
it was their ordinary and everyday habit to sail to and fro at a
moderate elevation above the ground they were watching, where
there were cattle and sheep. On no single occasion did we see a
Condor rise so high as the Second Camp (16,660 feet), nor, I think,
approach within a thousand feet of its level.

Condors were very numerous upon the lower slopes of Anti-
sana. A score or more continually hovered over the pastures,
keeping ordinarily about 1500 feet from the ground — an elevation
which they have no doubt learned by experience is sufficient for
practical purposes. They did not '^dart' upwards or downwards,
but rose rather slowly ; and, when they had attained their usual
height, maintained themselves at it by nearly imperceptible move-
ments of the wings, and floated, balancing themselves in the air,
turning to this or that side, gradually descending ; and then, by
a few leisurely strokes, regained their former level ; continuing to
float and circle in this manner by the hour together.

We did not either when upon or in the neighbourhood of the
summits of Chimborazo and Antisana, or near the summits of any
other mountain, see a Condor in our vicinity upon a single occa-
sion, and I think never observed one so high as 16,000 feet. I
believe Humboldt to have been mistaken in supposing that he
often saw the bird soaring above all the summits of the Andes.
Any one, however skilled in judging distances, may be deceived
in such a matter. In the accompanying diagram, let H stand for
Hacienda ; S for the summit of Antisana ; the line WR indicate the
level of our camp ; and A, B, a pair of Condors, hovering over the
lower slopes. An observer at H might naturally suppose the birds
to be higher than the summit, though to another at W it would
be apparent that they were below his level. While there may,
possibly, be occasions when the Equatorial Condor departs from its

CHAP. X. RANGE OF THE CONDOR. 203

usual routine, I think such instances must be rare ; and that the
upper limit of its habitual range cannot be higher than 16,000 feet.

19,00c
iS,ooo
17,000
16,000

^^ --. R

15,000

'^'^^---^'^^^

14,000

^^~~ ^-^^--=..

—

Though some of these birds were in captivity at Quito, we
saw none at liberty so low as 9000 feet, and were unable to learn
that they ever visited the sea. Mr. J. S. Wilson, who had lived
for twenty-five years in Ecuador, and passed the greater part
of that time upon the coast, told me that he had never known
one to come down to the plains, or heard of such an occurrence.
I imagine, therefore, that the Equatorial Condor very seldom
descends to the Pacific. It seems, indeed, probable that it never
does so. It is said that those which are despatched (in confine-
ment) from the interior to the coast invariably die before reaching
Guayaquil.^ Yet it is an undoubted fact that Condors frequent
the sea-shore in more southern parts of South America. Whether
the same individual birds also soar to great heights, and are speci-
fically the same as the Condor of the Equator, are questions that
I am unable to answer. If there are no marked points of differ-
ence between them, it will be ascertained that this species has a
range in altitude of about 16,000 feet (not in any one country,
but spread over thirty degrees of latitude) and this is perhaps the
greatest that is possessed by any bird.

On the few occasions upon which we were approached by
Condors in a menacing manner, we became aware of their presence

1 This happened to some which were sent by Baron Gabriel de Grunzburg from
Quito to Guayaquil, while I was in Ecuador.

204 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. x.

from their shadows being cast upon us by a nearly vertical sun.
They never came near when the sun was concealed, and if they
hovered in our neighbourhood they always kept the sun at their
backs. This cannot be their invariable habit in a country where
the sun is so often invisible, though possibly it is adopted when-
ever there is a chance, and the motive is obvious. The objects
to be attacked are dazzled by the sun^s rays, while the assailants
are able to examine their brilliantly-lighted, intended victims at
their ease, whose eyes are picked out at the earliest opportunity,
and are thus rendered completely defenceless. The herdsmen on
Antisana had lifelong familiarity with the Condor, and did not
stand in awe of it. They told me that the bird was particularly
addicted to old horse and young calf, and might, after feeding,
be easily caught with the lasso. Sen or Eebolledo said that it
would be a mercy to slaughter some of his worn-out steeds, and
one was killed and laid out in order that his people might
display their dexterity.

We all descended to Antisanilla on the afternoon of March
11, and the baggage went on the next morning to Pinantura;^
while I was taken to a neighbouring valley to see how wild
cattle were captured, and after witnessing some clever horseman-
ship was led a mile or two towards the south. The slaughtered
horse had been laid out on high ground, in a hollow surrounded
by little knolls ; and watchers, posted in concealment, counted
the company as it assembled. A scout stopped us while still a
mile away, saying that the feast had scarcely commenced, although
eighteen Condors had arrived, and he kept us lying for several

1 The following times were occupied between the places which have been named
in this chapter. Quito to top of Puengasi ridge, 75 min. ; thence to the commence-
ment of the flat ground on the other side, 1 h. 55 min. There was a good made
road so far. Hacienda Colegio to Pintac, 4 hours ; Pintac to Hacienda of Pinantura,
2 h. 25 min, ; Pinantura to Hacienda of Antisanilla, 4h. 15 min. ; Antisanilla to
Hacienda of Antisana, 3 h. 5 min. (without the baggage train). Hacienda of
Antisana to Antisanilla, 2 h. 55 min. (with the baggage). Antisanilla to Piiiantura,
2 h. 30 min. (without the baggage).

^^^

"THEY DASHED IN AMONGST THEM AND THREW THEIR LASSOS,

CHAP. X. HOW TO CATCH A CONDOR. 205

hours hidden in the grass, while this great, solemn assembly sat
watching the dead horse. Our time being exhausted, we stalked
up to within two hundred yards, and then mounted, without
uttering a word, expecting every moment that we should be
perceived. But the birds sat still as mutes, out of sight in the
hollow ; and we crept nearer, with the herdsmen leading, and on
the signal being given they dashed in and threw their lassos,
and all the eighteen Condors flew away,^ — scared and hurriedly,
yet without the lightning rapidity that is attributed to them by
Professor Orton.

From Pinantura, I despatched the baggage to Quito in charge
of the Carrels, and paid a visit to the cotton factory at Chillo,
accompanied by Mr. Verity.^ The mill was 193 feet long, in
the form of the letter H, — the legs being one storey and the
line joining them two storeys high. The interior was made up
of four large rooms (card-room, spinning-room, weaving-room,
etc.), each about 80 feet long and 24 feet wide. They were
ginning their own cotton with gins made by Piatt of Oldham,
and producing calico and thread. Sixty hands were employed —
entirely Indians — working sixty hours per week. Each family
had a house rent-free, with about an acre and a half of ground
attached, and all kept pigs and fowls, while some had as many
as six or eight cows and oxen. The whole of the machinery
came from Lancashire, and was being worked by a turbine. This

^ This business was spoiled by want of attention to orders. The liorse should
have been killed on the 11th, and the job was put off until manana. We found
that the Condors had hardly eaten anything.

"^ I met Seiior Carlos Aguirre at Chillo ; and, congratulating him upon his
valuable observations in the Comptes Hendus, expressed surprise that he should
have isolated himself for so long a time, at such a dismal place, in the service of
science. Senor Aguirre informed me that the observations were not made by
himself, but by a young Ecuadorian whom he deputed to do the work.

Some weeks later, I paid another visit to Chillo, and was again unable to fix
its position. It should come somewhere on my map between the words Pasochoa
and Hac. Colegio. The height of Chillo, according to Humboldt, is 8576 feet
above the level of the sea.

206 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES. chap. x.

mill was in constant and profitable employment, scarcely able
to keep pace with the demand for its productions. The yarn
was all bought up direct by Indians and woven by them into
ponchos. The excellent order and cleanliness of the establish-
ment, with the contented aspect of the people, were a most
agreeable surprise, and said much for its Manager, Mr. Daniel
Slater, who was the only foreigner employed.

Daylight had long departed when we set out to recross the
Puengasi ridge to the Capital. It was near midnight when we
arrived at the hotel, and except for Verity's familiarity with the
place there would have been some difficulty in finding it, for
Quito is lighted very economically. The law is that every
householder must put a lighted candle at dusk in front of his
dwelling. The law does not concern itself with the length of the
candle, and householders think that the fag-ends of tallow dips
are best suited for the purpose. Hence, at an early hour of the
night, the city is in total darkness.

SNOW-SPECTACLES.

PICHINCHA, FROM MACHACHI.

CHAPTER XI.

upo:n^ aj^ ascent of pichii^cha.

On" my return to Quito I found Jean-Antoine was indisposed.
Externally, there did not seem to be much the matter with him.
He said that his complaint was an internal one, and that his blood
had been turned sour by the crevasse episode. This dangerous
malady, however, yielded to the benign influence of the universal
remedy (see p. 50), and in a short time he declared himself fit for
active service.

There was something else, too, calculated to sour the temper.
The stench of the putrid ox-cheek pervaded everything, and each
day the Carrels took a load of foul tins down to the Machangara
(a rivulet that runs through Quito) to try to rid them of the
abominable odour by scouring them bright with sand ; a very
mean and menial occupation — almost as bad as carrying home

208 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi.

washing for a Chinaman, which on the Pacific Coast is considered
the lowest depth of degradation that can befall a human being.

Before proceeding to the north, we made an excursion to the
top of Pichincha. So far as extent is concerned, this is an im-
portant mountain. The part of it that is 10,000 or more feet
above the level of the sea is quite fifteen miles from North to
South, and its summit rises 6000 feet above Quito. Yet there
is little about it of a thoroughly mountainous character. It is
composed principally of undulating, grassy slopes, over which one
can ride higher than 14,000 feet. It is impossible to feel great
respect for an eminence that can be climbed on donkey -back,
and the truth is that the ascent of Pichincha is scarcely more
arduous than that of the Eggischorn.

We left Quito on the 21st of March, at 7.55 a.m., with a team
of seven animals and three arrieros ; passed to the west of the
Panecillo (by the road shewn on the Plan) through the village of
Magdalena, and (leaving Chillogallo on the left ^) commenced to
mount the slopes of Pichincha ; going at first over a small col,
and descending on the village of Lloa, then ascending through
meadows, followed by a considerable stretch of wood. In an
unctuous rut between walls of earth, one of our mules floundered
and fell with its legs doubled underneath ; and our chief arriero
— a Chillogallo man — after a fcAV feeble efforts, would have aban-
doned it on the spot. Then we experienced the usual afternoon
shower-bath, and, getting into the clouds, became perplexed as to
our whereabouts. Camped at 4 p.m.^ in sleet and drizzle, unable
to see a hundred yards in any direction, and sent the animals and
natives back to Lloa.

At night, when the atmosphere cleared, it was seen that we
had camped about midway between the two peaks of Pichincha,

^ The village of Chillogallo is principally occupied by arrieros. It is seldom
possible to obtain horses or mules in Quito itself. If wanted, they have to be
procured from Chillogallo.

2 The height of this camp was 14.007 feet above the sea.

CHAP. XI. SECOND CAMP ON PICHINCIIA. 209

which we conjectured were those that are called Guagua and
Eucn.^ Although there are numerous allusions in the works of
previous writers to these summits and to the craters of Pichincha,
and we had met various persons in Quito who claimed to have
visited the craters (for it was said there were several), I was unable
to tell from anything that had been said or heard what was the
relative position of the summits/ or where the craters were located ;
and when these two peaks made their appearance we were not
certain which of the two was the higher. The right hand or
eastern one ajopeared to be the lower and the easier to ascend,
and I sent Louis to tackle it, while Jean-Antoine and Verity
went to pay their attentions to the other.

During their absence I mounted to the depression in the ridge
connecting the two peaks, or ensillada as it is termed/ and found
that on the other side it descended very steeply. So far as mist
would permit one to see, this was the head of an ordinary mount-
ain valley. I awaited the return of my people, and, as their
reports agreed that the western peak was the higher, shifted our
camp in the afternoon up to a sort of cave that had been dis-
covered by Jean-Antoine,* a convenient place (where some cavities
in the lava were protected by overhanging masses) roomy enough
to let each one select a nook for himself ; and my assistants, con-
sequently, were able to snore ad lihitum, without having their
ribs poked with an ice-axe. From this refuge, which was just

^ According to Dr. M. Villavicensio, Rucu-Pichincha means old Pichincha, and
Guagua-Pichincha means young or child Pichincha. From this it would appear
that, traditionally, the highest point is of less age than the lower one.

2 Rucu is said to be the most eastern one. Besides these two peaks, others are
sometimes referred to. I saw only two.

3 There are many ensilladas in Ecuador. The term is the equivalent of ' saddle '
as used in the Alps.

^ By taking a more circuitous route, mules might have been brought to this
place, 14,992 feet above the level of the sea. Three hundred feet above it I found
the minute mushroom (Cantharellus) which has been described in the Journal of
Botany^ June 1890, by Messrs. Massee and Murray. This (15,300 feet) was the
greatest height at which Fungi were obtained.

210 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi.

a thousand feet below the top of Griiagua-Pichincha^ there was
an extensive prospect to the south and east. We saw the summits
of Illiniza and Corazon rising immediately over that of Atacatzo ; ^
and Cotopaxi and Antisana (each nearly forty miles away) by
moonlight.^ In the night I heard, at irregular intervals, roars
(occurring apparently at no great distance) exactly corresponding
to the noise made by the escapes of steam from the crater of
Cotopaxi. The minimum temperature at night was 29° Faht.

On the next morning (March 23) all four of us followed Jean-
Antoine's track, and upon striking the western ridge of Guagua I
found there was a very precipitous fall on the other (or northern)
side, where the crater, presumably, was located. We crossed this
ridge, and after descending about four hundred feet saw that we
were in the valley that I had looked down upon from the ensillada.
While the upper part of it was rocky, precipitous, and bare, the
slopes below were covered with a good deal of vegetation ; amongst
which there was neither smoke, steam, fissures, nor anything that
one would expect to see at the bottom of the crater of a volcano
which is said to have been recently in eruption. This however, no
doubt, is a crater of Pichincha.^ Its depth, reckoning from the
highest point of the mountain, is probably not less than two
thousand feet ; its breadth is fully as much, and the length of the
part we saw was at least a mile. It had none of the symmetry
of the crater of Cotopaxi. The western extremity was clouded
during the whole of our stay on the summit.

1 The summits of the four mountains Illiniza, Corazon, Atacatzo, and Pichineha
are nearly in a line ; that is to say, a line drawn from the former to the latter passes
almost exactly through the summits of the two others. From our second camp on
Pichineha I found that the top of Corazon was 8°15' more west than Atacatzo, and
Illiniza was 3°45' more west than Corazon.

2 The large snow or glacier plateau on the north-east of Antisana appeared an
important feature of that mountain, when seen from Pichineha.

3 In a paper published at Chalons, in 1858, by the Society of Agriculture,
Commerce, Arts and Sciences of the Department of the Marne, entitled Ascencion
du Pichineha^ M. Jules Remy refers to this valley when speaking of " the crater" ;
and he states that it leads to another one, farther to the west, from which it is

CHAP. XI. THE SUMMIT OF PICHINCHA. 211

In the view placed at the head of this Chapter, Guagua-
Pichincha is the little peak that is almost exactly in the centre
of the engraving ; and the other one, a quarter of an inch on its
right, is that which was ascended by Louis Carrel. The bottom of
the depression between the two is the ensillada, and it was here I
had my first view of this crater-valley. Subsequently, by passing
to the left and skirting the base of Guagua-Pichincha, the same
valley was seen again. I think it is likely that others have acted
similarly, and through not observing that they have looked down
upon one and the same valley have made two craters out of one.

"We then reascended to the arete of the ridge, and followed it
until Jean-Antoine said that the top was reached. The rocks fell
away in front, and there was no reason to doubt him ; but, while
the barometer was being unpacked, some crags, a long way above,
loomed through the mist. " Carrel, ^^ I said, " if we are on the
summit of Pichincha, what is that 9 " He was struck dumb for a
time, and gasped '^ Why, I never saw that before ! " AVe shut up
the barometer, and went on, and in half an hour were really on
the top of Pichincha. Nothing more need be said about the
ascent than that it might be made alone, by any moderately active
lad. The right way up the final peak is by the ridge leading to
the west, and it is probable that this route has been taken before,
for on the other sides, although not inaccessible, the last eight
hundred feet are very steep.

I found that the summit of Guagua-Pichincha was a ridge of

separated by a wall of rock. This statement must be made on the strength of
information, for a farther crater evidently was not seen by M. Remy.

His companion Mr. Brenchley went to the bottom of the crater-valley by rolling
head over heels, happily, without taking harm ; and set to work to examine ' a bed
of sulphur and a fumarole' that had been seen from above. The following sentence
contains the whole of the information that is given about them. "II n'y a ni feu
ni laves de formation rt^cente."

This paper was kindly communicated to me by M. Remy after my return to
Europe ; and, having compared it with the several other accounts given of the
craters of Pichincha, I have come to the conclusion that their authors were gifted
with much imagination.

212 ' TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi.

lava about one hundred and fifty paces long, mainly firm rock,
though strewn with loose, decomposing blocks, amongst which
there were a number of lumps of pumice, up to a foot or rather
more in diameter.^ Close to the very highest point (15,918 feet),^

1 Professor Bonney says : — '' In the rock from the summit of Guagua-Piehincha,
the external surfaces have a slightly scoriaceous aspect ; and, where the lichen-
growth is chipped away, are of a dull grey to rusty-brown colour. The fractured
faces shew the matrix to be of a dull, but not dark colour, in places slightly vesi-
cular, the walls of the hollows being coated with a pellicle of iron rust. In the
matrix are scattered pretty thickly whitish felspar crystals, not generally exceeding
0*2 inch in diameter, and granules of a black mineral, less than 0*125 inch in
diameter. . . The rock is a hornblende-andesite."

The specimen "from the highest point of Rucu-Pichincha " (the peak ascended
by Louis Carrel is presumably Rucu) "is a compact grey rock, containing scattered
crystals of a glassy felspar up to about 0*2 inch in diameter, and smaller specks
of a black pyroxenic mineral. . . Grains of magnetite occur. . . The matrix is
often darkened by specks of kaolin and ferrite. . . The rock is a hyperstheni-
ferous augite-andesite." — Proc. Royal Soc, Jan. 31, 1884.

2 At 11.15 a.m., on March 23, the Mercurial Barometer, reduced to 32° Faht.,
read 16*974 inches, with air temperature 46° Faht. The 11 a.m. reading at
Guayaquil (reduced to 32°) was 29*882 inches, air temperature 80° Faht.

Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel give the height of 15,706 feet (4787 metres) for Guagua-
and 15,542 feet (4737 metres) for that of Rucu-Pichincha. These elevations were
determined by A, not by barometrical observations on the summit. According to
them, Guagua is the western and Rucu is the eastern summit.

La Condamine, at p. 33 of his Journal du Voyage^ gives 2430 toises as the
height of \i\s, '■'■ station on the higliest point of Pichincha {statioii sur le plus haut
sommet de Pitchincha) " ; and at p. 56 of his Mesure des trois premiers Degres he gives
the same amount (2430 toises) as the height of the eastern summit. As the highest
summit of Pichincha is the westeroi one, I feel somewhat perplexed.

Humboldt makes various references in his works to Pichincha, and in such a
way as to lead one to suppose that he had been upon the very highest point of the
mountain. I feel unable to say whether he did attain the highest point. At p. 28
of the section entitled Nivellement Barometrique in his Recueil d'' Observations Astro-
nomiques, he gives 4854 metres as the height of Rucu-Pichincha, "the most eastern
of three rocky towers." This is equal to 15,925 English feet, which closely corre-
sponds with the height I found for Guagua-Pichincha. He further puzzles me by a
footnote, at the beginning of which he states that Pichincha has four principal
summits, and speaks of a fifth one at the end ; and he completes my bewilder-
ment by saying that M. de la Condamine did not measure Rucu, although that
gentleman gives 2430 toises as the height of the eastern summit, which all are
agreed is Rucu-Pichincha.

CHAP. XI. RECURRING SPECIES. 213

a little pile of stones had evidently been put together by the hand
of man. Snow-beds were somewhat numerous in fissures, yet the
top of this mountain scarcely touches the snow-line.

The whole of the summit-ridge had an appearance of age,
and bore a large quantity of lichens (^Gyropliora sp., Lecidea sp.,
and Neuropogon melaxantlius, Nyl.) ; and within fifty feet of the
extreme top there was a large plant, with thick, woolly leaves,
and a nearly white, pendent, downy flower — I presume, a Culci-
tiura — which was one of those that constantly attracted attention
by recurrence at particular altitudes.^ It made its appearance
whenever we reached the height of 14,000 feet, and was never
seen much lower. From its size and prominent characters it
was not readily overlooked, and I cannot be far wrong in esti-
mating that its range in altitude extends from about 13,500 to
16,000 feet above the level of the sea.

Twenty-one species of Beetles were collected upon Pichincha
between the heights of 12,000-15,600 feet, belonging principally
to the Carahidm, OtiorrhyncJiidm, and Curculionidcs. The whole
are new to science. Some, like the Astylus described by Mr.
Gorham, inhabit the interior of Ecuador generally, and attain
here the up|)er limit of their range. Their delight is in leaves
and branches, and they cease to be seen when arborescent
vegetation is left below. Eight species were found 07ily on
Pichincha. The remainder were obtained on other mountains,
either at similar, or at somewhat higher or lower elevations.
Two of these (namely, Helicorrhynclms vulsiis, Ollifi, and Macrops
codorum, Olliff)^ were afterwards taken again, one hundred miles
away, at 16,000 feet on Chimborazo.^

* It was found also within a few feet of the extreme top of Corazon (15,871
feet). The specimens that we attempted to preserve turned out badly, and were
thrown away. Several clumps of it were growing round about our second camp,
and are shewn in the engraving facing page 209.

2 Figures of these are given in the Supplementary Appendix on the Plate facing
page 60, and upon page 72.

3 Examples of recurring species are mentioned in Chapter XIX.

214 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi.

The first competent naturalist who devotes his whole time
to this mountain will reap a splendid harvest. After he has
satiated himself with beetles and butterflies, he will be able to
feast his eyes upon the ruby and emerald breasts, and cyanine
tails, of the numerous humming-birds abounding upon it and in
its neighbourhood, which include some of the most remarkable
and beautiful forms that are known. The tiny Soldado (Mul-
sant's Wood-star) barely three inches long, and the not much
larger Prelado (Myr Us fanny cb, Less.) affect the plain of Tumbaco ;
Pteroplianes Temmincki, Boiss. (the largest Ecuadorian species,
measuring nearly nine inches across its wings) is said to be
limited to the foot of Corazon ; Petasophora anais, Less., locally
called ''the Royal Humming-bird,^ is common in the basins of
Quito and Chillo ; and the long-tailed Cynanthus and Leshias are
diffused on the western side of the mountain generally. Not
fewer than eight others, including the extraordinary ' Sword-bill '
(Bocmiastes ensiferus, Boiss. ),^ and three Tuff-legs,^ are common
on the mountain itself. There is reason to believe that, when
more attention is paid to the habits and habitats of these birds,
it will be found that several at least of the species which are
said to be confined to particular localities will be discovered at
other places at equivalent altitudes. Humming-birds in Ecuador
are obtained through the Indians. Information as to localities
is principally derived from them, and probably is frequently
misunderstood. So far as it could be done, I j^rocured the local
names of the species which were obtained/ and have brought
them together in the accompanying list, arranged according to
the classification of the British Museum Guide to the Gould
collection.

^ In my specimen, the bill is three and a quarter inches long.

2 I am greatly indebted to Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., for naming this collec-
tion. Several of the localities mentioned in the list, not visited by me (S.
Domingo, Nanegal, Mindo, Canzacoto, Gualea and Nono), will be found on the
Maldonado map. The valley of Chota (in the extreme north of Ecuador) is not
given upon either map.

CHAP. XI.

HUMMING-BIRDS ON PICIIINCHA.

215

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TRAVELS A310N0ST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi.

We got back to the second camp soon after mid - day ; and,
as there was no prospect of improvement in the weather, packed
up and returned to Quito. It was now close upon Easter, and
we could not leave again until Grood Friday was over. Giacometti,
on that day, at considerable trouble to himself, thoughtfully
provided his guests with salt fish for dinner ; and though this
nauseous diet was eaten with meekness and resignation by all
good Catholics, one of the boarders — a Yankee Jew — protested,
in language which would have been rough in the Western States,
against the subtraction of his customary pound of flesh as a fraud
on his stomach, and against the substitute as an insult to his
religion. The next day we left Quito by the road to the North,
on our way to Cayambe, and did not return again to the Capital
before the third of May.

ON THE ROAD.

*^^' '^—

CHAMPIONS.

CHAPTER XII.

THE FIRST ASCEN^T OF CAYAMBE.

Two roads lead out of the northern end of Quito. One, passing
to the east of the Observatory, descends through a narrow gorge
rather rapidly on to the Plain of Tumbaco, and is used by
persons going to the village of the same name, to Pifo, or to
Papallacta. The other, on the west of the Observatory, is the
road to the North, and it was this one we took on the 27th
of March, on our way to the great Equatorial mountain Cayambe.
I had seen Cayambe from the cone of Cotopaxi, and at
Quito from the Panecillo, but these views were obtained at too
great distances (62 and 43 miles respectively) to distinguish
details ; and enquiries were made at Quito to learn the names
of inhabited places, contiguous to the mountain, where informa-
tion might be procured as to the best manner of approaching,
it. From Seflor Carlos Aguirre I heard that one of the properties
belonging to his family, a large farm called Guachala, was situated

218 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

on its southern outskirts, and he favoured me with a letter to
his tenant. The village called Cayambe was the nearest place
of any size to the mountain, and the only one where food was
likely to be obtained.

The party on this journey consisted of the two Carrels,
Verity, and the principal arriero (Cevallos) we had taken several
times before ; who was assisted by a second mule-driver of a
jovial temperament, much given to strong waters, and by a very
willing and pleasant-tempered native, David Beltran. These three
men came from Machachi, and formed an excellent working team.
Four beasts were taken for riding, and four others for baggage.

After proceeding a few miles from Quito, we quitted the main
road,^ and turned to the east, towards the Plain of Tumbaco,
which was at a lower level, gently sloping towards the north. It
was on the eastern side of this (upon what they called the Plain
of Yarouqui) that La Condamine and his associates measured
their famous base-line in Oct.-Nov., 1736 ; and the little pyramid
of Carabourou, marking its northern end, caught the eye, a
glittering speck of light, as we approached the edge of the great
Ravine or Quehrada'^ of Guallabamba.^

This immense chasm forms a boundary to Mojanda (also called
Yana-urcu), a mountain which is seldom referred to in geograph-
ical works, although it rises to the respectable elevation of
14,000 feet, and covers, perhaps, a greater area than any other
individual mountain in Ecuador.* While for the most part its

1 This road to the North is a fairly good track, not a metalled road.

2 Quebrada is a word that is heard very often in Ecuador. A ditch is a
quebrada, or an earthquake crack a few feet across, or a chasm more than 2000
feet deep, such as the great ravine of Guallabamba.

3 Multitudes of lizards were seen in passing between Quito and Guallabamba.
We secured several specimens of Liocephalus trachycephalus (A. Dum.), and there
were I think at least two species that we failed to catch. Compare this with the
passage quoted at p. 176 from Mr. Hassaurek.

4 Its slopes on the south-west terminate at the Quebrada of Guallabamba, and
on the north extend almost as far as the town of Otovalo.

CHAP. xir. TEE QUE BR AD A OF GUALLABAMBA. 219

slopes are not steep, the abruptness of its cliffs bordering the
quebrada can hardly be exceeded ; and there is nothing elsewhere
in the neighbourhood of Equatorial America equalling the grandeur
of this profound earthquake fissure.^ Just where the ground
commenced to fall steeply, I halted to examine the barometers,
for the purpose of determining the depth of the ravine, and for
reading the aneroids against the mercurial ; as this was a favour-
able occasion for comparing the indications of the two classes
of barometers.

No reference having been made to the aneroids since p. 72,
it may be supposed that they were put aside, and were neglected.
This was not the case. Systematic comparison of the barometers
was part of my daily routine, though regarded almost as waste
of time ; for it was difficult to see what advantage could be
derived from employing instruments which all read lower than
the truth, and differed to a large extent one from another.
The comjDarisons which were made since we left Ohimborazo
shewed that the index-errors of all the aneroids remained nearly
constant at any given pressure ; and had a tendency to augment
while ascending (that is, with pressure diminishing) and to
lessen whilst descending (pressure increasing).^ At Quito, on
the 20th of March, the mean error of the whole amounted to
— 1*009 inches ; that is to say, the mean of the whole of the
aneroids indicated a pressure more than an inch too lo'w at
Quito. If this mean had been employed for determination
of altitude, in conjunction with the Guayaquil observations, it
would have made the height of the Capital above the level of
the sea about 1,400 feet in excess of the truth.

Although it appeared to me that these aneroids were worth-
less for determination of elevation above the level of the sea,
I had already remarked that their indications often accorded

1 A few remarks upon this and other quebradas are made in a later Chapter,

2 See the Table at the end of Appendix C. giving the mean error of the
aneroids.

220 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

extremely well with those of the mercurial barometer when
observing differences of level, when the observations were made
quickly, — that is to say, when only a short interval of time
elapsed between the readings at the lower stations and the upper
ones, or between the upper and lower ones, as the case might
be. At the Ravine of Gruallabamba I expected to descend about
3000 feet' in two hours, and looked forward with curiosity to
see whether upon this large difference of level I should observe
the same satisfactory accordance between the aneroids and the
mercurial barometer as had previously been noted upon minor
ones.

At the top of the descent, at mid-day, the reading of the
mercurial barometer No. 558 (reduced to 32° Faht.) was 21 '692
inches. The two aneroids I carried (marked A, B), at the same
place and time, read 21*140 and 19'940 inches respectively.
Aneroid A, thus, had an index-error of— 0*552 inch, and B an
index-error of — 1*752 inches. At 2.30 p.m., on the bridge at
the bottom of the ravine, the reading of the mercurial barometer
(red. to 32° Faht.) was 23*929 inches ; of Aneroid A, 23*400
inches ; and of Aneroid B, 22*200 inches. The increase in the
pressure shewn by the three barometers, therefore, was

Mercurial Barometer, No. 558 . . 2 '237 inches.

Aneroid A ..... 2-260 „

Do. B . . . . . 2-260 „

The result, although in one sense highly satisfactory, was puzzling ;
for here were two aneroids, one with an index-error of — 0*552
of an inch, and the other with an error more than three times
as large, each indicating precisely the same increase in pressure,
and differing in the measurement from the mercurial barometer
only to the extent of 0*023 of an inch (an error of a shade
more than one per cent in the measurement).

^ From my barometric observations, the depth of the ravine from the commence-
ment of the descent to the top of the bridge amounted to 2834 feet. With the
addition of the part below tlie bridge, the total depth is a little less than 3000 feet.

CHAP. XII. ECCENTRICITIES OF THE ANEROIDS. 221

Or the matter may be put in the following way. When we
were at the bottom of the ravine, and the mercurial barometer
Xo. 558 read 23 '929 inches, the barometer at Guayaquil was
standing at 29*900 inches. The actual difference in the atmos-
pheric pressure between the upper and lower station was there-
fore 5*971 inches. Aneroid B, however, at the bottom of the
ravine, read 22*200 inches, and thus made it appear that there
was a difference of pressure of 7*700 inches. The error therefore
of B in a measurement of 5*971 inches was 1*729 inches, or
more than 28 per cent. Yet this same instrument, it was seen
just now, in a measurement of 2*237 inches, differed only to
the extent of 0*023 of an inch from the mercurial barometer.
Comparisons of this nature were continued, though no more are
quoted in the course of my narrative. I returned to England,
and remained for several years, entirely unable to understand
this anomalous behaviour.^

We stopped for the night at the village of Guallabamba
(7133 feet), a pleasant little place, with an agreeable tempera-
ture,^ embowered in foliage, where we bought oranges shaken

1 It appeared inexplicable to several of the leading instrument-makers and
meteorologists under whose notice it was brought. The prominent manner in
which it was referred to in a paper communicated to the Royal Geographical
Society (see Proc. Roy. Geog. Soc, 1881, p. 450) also failed to draw elucidations
from any one.

1 coutmued to investigate the matter ; and, after working during several years
in tabulating and comparing the original observations, subsequently occupied several
years more in experiments in the workshop, with the results which will be found
in the pamphlet entitled How to use the Aneroid Barometer. See also Appendix C.

As even a condensed summary of this investigation necessarily extends to
considerable length, I have thought it best to issue it separately from, though
simultaneously with the present volume.

2 At 8 p.m., 67° Faht. Strangers seldom come here. The natives said it was
two years since they had seen a gringo. The place was badly o£E for food. There
was of course no meat. Bread only came once a week from Quito.

At the bottom of the Ravine of Guallabamba, at 2.30 p.m., temperature in
the shade was 75°-5 Faht., and this was the highest we experienced in the shade
anywhere in the interior of Ecuador.

222 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

from the trees at the rate of four a penny ; and on the 28th
left for Guachak;, passing at mid-day the village of Cousobamba
(about the same elevation as Quito), where there was cMclia,
but no water. The track wound through a large diversity of
scenery, sometimes amongst woods, or dipping into quebradas,
and this must be one of the grandest rides in the universe when
the surrounding mountain panorama is visible. We arrived at
Guachala/ however, without having had 9, single glimpse of
Cayambe ; and, finding that the tenant was absent, rode over
the next morning to Cayambe village, in quest of information.

I brought a letter of introduction to the Jefo-politico, and
learnt that he was on the plaza, engaged in an affair of import-
ance. He was surrounded by a large part of the male population,
crowding together, jostling and pushing each other to get a
good view of the business which was being transacted. It was
the concluding round of a cock-fight for the championship of
Cayambe, and when it was over the Jefo-politico had leisure
to attend to me. He promised that a guide should be provided ;
but, say what I would, the conversation invariably bore round

1 In the garden at the back of this establishment, before breakfast on the
29th, I collected fourteen species of bugs and beetles, eleven of which prove to
be new to science. The bushes were loaded with the AsUjlus described by Mr.
Gorham (Supp. App., pp. 52-3). Whilst engaged in this occupation, the sun
came out (at 8 a.m.) brightly, and drove me into the house. This was the only
occasion upon the whole journey that I felt the rays of the sun were dangerous.
The people in general at Cayambe and Guachala seemed to me to have even
lighter complexions than those at Quito, which implies that they do not feel the
sun very often.

Between Guallabamba and Guachala I dismounted twice to secure fine beetles
which were literally crossing our path, belonging to the Dynastidce. One of these
is a known species {Heterogomphus Bourcierl, Guerin) ; for the reception of the
other, Mr. Bates has instituted the genus Praogolofa {Supp. App., p. 34).

The following times were occupied in going from the capital to Guachala.
Quito to the top of the Quebrada of Guallabamba, 4 hours 50 min. ; descent to
the bottom of the ravine (cutting the zigzags) 1 h. 35 min., those following
the path took 2 hs. 30 min, ; bridge to the village of Guallabamba, 70 minutes.
Guallabamba to Cousobamba, 3 hs. 20 min. ; thence to Guachala, 5 hours.

CHAP. XII. EQUATORIAL SPORTS. ^ 223

to cock-fighting, which in this region is considered the most
rational and delightful of all sports. He expressed incredulity
when told that in England it was only enjoyed by the lower
orders, though he would have readily believed that the Lord
Chancellor comes down every morning to the Law Courts with
a fighting-cock under each arm. ^' You surprise me/^ said the
Jefo-politico, " for all the best cocks come from England.^''

Three weeks later I passed two nights at this village, and
found that to each pillar in the courtyard of my host^s house
a fighting-cock was tied. His champions passed their spare
moments in attempts to carry on a desultory warfare ; and,
when night came, chased sleep away by screams of defiance. I
growled to the schoolmaster that they disturbed the sacredness
of midnight. " Oh,^^ said he, " they always crow at the eveji
hours " ; and it was the fact that they raised their voices at
twelve, two, and four, and let one, three, and five slip by un-
noticed !

The Jefo-politico, Sen or Antonio Jarrin de Espinosa, was
the owner of Cayambe mountain, of five thousand head of cattle,
and a man of large possessions ; and when he invited us to quit
comfortable quarters at Guachala, and to sleep at his Hacienda
Chuarpongo, I anticipated we were going to enjoy a rather good
time, in a country house, suitable for a person of his distinction.
Chuarpongo was on the outskirts of Cayambe, and looked down
upon the Equatorial village. The building was composed of little
more than one room, which was filled with raw potatoes — if they
had been cooked it would have been all right. Mashed potatoes
would make a nice bed, being of a plastic and accommodating
nature ; but these raw potatoes of Chuarpongo were uncom^^ro-
mising, and left a strong impression on both mind and body.

I think it must be assumed, from the exceptional courtesy
he shewed, Seflor Espinosa was unaware that we had to repose
upon beds of raw potatoes. The guide he provided was himself.
He arrived at 4 a.m., on the 31st of March, at Chuarpongo, with

224 i TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

two of his major-domos (and a third one from a neighbouring
estate), accompanied by five fine deerhounds ; and led us in
the darkness a long way east-south-east, before beginning to
approach the summit of our mountain.^ At about 8 a.m., at a
bend of 'the Monk's Valley/ they stopped to enquire where I
wished to arrive, and upon indicating a rocky point, at the edge
of the glaciers underneath the summit, they proceeded up the
ridge dividing the Monk's Valley from another on its south-east.^
At 10.15, on coming to the point where the heads of these
two valleys met, we halted for a meal, with the sun shining
brilliantly.

While resting on the grass, a great shadow suddenly appeared
in our midst, and made us all alive. A Condor had dropped
down, and was hovering with outstretched wings about five-and-
twenty yards above. The deerhounds ran in, cowering with
terror, and casting furtive glances at the huge bird, whilst
pressing against us, trembling with fear. It was remarkable to
see the fright that possessed these big dogs, when they were in
perfect security amongst our large party. Shouts drove the
assailant away, and presently we proceeded.^

The course now led up very steep ground, that formed a
step to another valley above, and the passage of this part
occupied some length of time, as the animals had to be unloaded.
When all were got to the top, Jean-Antoine was missing,'^ nor

1 Our courses during the remainder of this Chapter and for Chapter XIII. can
be followed on the inset map of part of Cayambe that is given at the top of the
large, general route map.

2 On this part of the way we passed several Falcons. One, sitting on a rock
about fifty feet off, would not fly away when shouted to.

3 This bird had been seen hovering about for some time. It seemed to drop
down upon us, and for an instant came within twenty yards.

The largest Ecuadorian Condor of which I have heard is said to have measured
10 feet 6 in. from tip to tip of the wings. Most of those we saw on Antisana
and elsewhere would not I think have measured so much as nine feet.

* I had despatched him in advance (so that the barometer should not be im-
perilled by the floundering of the animals) with instructions to wait for us above.

CHAP. XII. UNPREMEDITATED EXPLORATIONS. 225

could any one tell where he was. Halting the others, and
handing all the things I usually carried over to Louis in order
to move quickly, I scrambled a couple of hundred feet up the
ridge on the northern side of the valley, and descried the Chief
of the Staff about half-a-mile ahead, picking his way through
some swampy ground.

Just then a deer galloped down the cliff ; the hounds went
off in hot pursuit, and holding us entranced by their splendid
bounds down break-neck rocks gave the errant man a still longer
start. When they came back, discomfited and panting, we went
on, and for a time held parallel courses — the others down below
on the flat floor of the valley, and I on the top of the ridge,
so close that we could keep up conversation. Presently they
got out of sight and hearing. I continued, however, to progress
along the arele, intending to rejoin them when the cliffs between
us became less precipitous.

At mid-day clouds formed about our neighbourhood. I had
arrived close above the spot where we were to have encamped,
but could not see twenty yards, or get a response to continual
whistling and shouting. About this time I was joined by one
of the hounds, who seemed to share my perplexity, and ran
about in all directions, stopping to listen. I then bore round
to the south, and finding no track concluded that the others
must have passed over rock, and left no trace ; so proceeded
higher up, and doubled back, purposely selecting such ground
as would allow a good track to be made on it. Presently we
came to some bits of climbing which were too steep for the
dog, and, whilst rendering him assistance, a few specks of snow
commenced to fall. They quickly changed to flakes ; in a few
minutes there was a blinding snow-storm, and the track was com-
pletely obliterated. I continued to search for two hours more,
and then considered it was time to attend to my own safety.

We were nearly 16,000 feet high ; without compass or instru-
ments, food, protection or the means of making a fire, for Louis

2 G

226 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

had taken everything. We went down, regardless of direction,
solely occupied with the view of getting to a lower level. Any
valley on this side of the mountain, if followed to its extremity,
would bring one on to the plain of Cayambe. At about 4 p.m.,
getting out of cloud-land, we came upon the head of an unknown
valley, which was joined some distance off by another, each with
its own little torrent. There was a slope of sand, perhaps eight
hundred feet high, between us and the nearest stream, and
leaving a track on it that could be seen a mile away I marched
across to the right bank of the valley, but had to come back
again, as my four-footed friend stopped howling on the bank,
refusing to take to the water. I carried the big baby across
in my arms. The streams were unfordable when united, and
presently fell into a wall-sided ravine with impassable cliffs on
the left bank. The opposite slopes, being fissured by earthquake-
cracks, were nearly as impracticable ; and we were forced to
keep to the bottom, in morass, covered with reeds ; and for two
hours more I waded through slime, clutching the stems, not
daring to leave go, lest I should be swallowed up.

It was nearly dark when we escaped from this horrible bog,
and came upon steeply descending ground ; where I descried a
little thicket, the first semblance of shelter that had been seen.
Preoccupied in finding a refuge of any sort, I did not at first
notice that we had hit upon a lair, or sleeping-place, of some
of the cattle who from time to time escape to the mountains
from the tyranny of man. We had been warned to avoid them,
as they pay no regard to anyone, and become savage and
dangerous wild-beasts, with marvellous agility. The idea that
several might bounce in, inclined to resent this unauthorized
occupation of their brush-wood bed, gave something to think
about through the eleven hours of darkness.

We left the lair at earliest dawn, and, after descending an
abrupt step, found that the lower part of the valley was densely
wooded. I spied the remains of a track, a very old one, evidently

CHAP. XII. INDIAN HOSPITALITY. 227

unused for a long time, overgrown and obliterated in many
places, or closed by interlaced branches. The dog crept under-
neath without much trouble, and found the way instinctively ;
whilst I was driven to make long detours, and several times
should have lost myself had not the sagacious animal stood on
the track and waited, or come and led me back. Much sooner
than I anticipated, sky became visible through openings in the
branches, and about 7.30 a.m. we suddenly emerged on to the
open ; and at the foot of a grassy hill saw a little Indian hut,
emitting blue smoke, curling upwards in front of the plain, with
a man and woman outside busy at their morning work. I smelt
breakfast, and pounced down on them like a hawk. '^^Have
you locro ?'' *''' Yes, Senor.^' '^^ Give me some locro^" (said very
peremptorily). '^ That I will, Sen or ^' (said heartily), and he
brought out a basonful at once, with another for the dog, and
we all sat outside in the sunshine eating potato-soup together.
They were an old, homely couple, unencumbered either by bash-
fulness or servility. He pressed us to take more, and came down
the river^'s side until the outlying houses of the village were
seen, and then with a polite salutation was about to take leave ;
but I detained him, and, pouring my loose money into his hand,
left him in stupefied adoration, uncertain whether he had seen
a vision or entertained a gringo.

When I reappeared soon after 9 a.m. on the 1st of April at
the house of the Jefo-politico, a messenger was despatched to
advise the others ; and Senor Espinosa, Jean-Antoine, and Verity
arrived in the course of the afternoon, with congratulations upon
my safe return from this circular tour. The day was too far
advanced to make another start for the camp. Having time
on our hands, we wandered about the village, and formed the
acquaintance of priest and schoolmaster ; and discovered that
one could buy two-pennyworth of bread at a time, and no more.
If you want a larger quantity, you may buy another medioworth,
and so on, but on no account will a shilling's worth be sold at

228

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

once. Later on, attracted by the sound of music, we came upon
a minstrel, with upcast eyes, appealing to his star. Then there
was a flash, and a quickly following splash, for she suddenly

appeared on the balcony to
damp his ardour, according to
the manner of the country ;
and made us go back, wonder-
ing at the ways of women, —
resolved never to play a guitar
under a first-floor at Cayambe.

Our mountain looked im-
mense from the village, and
we saw on the 2nd of April
that, like Antisana, its upper
3-4000 feet was almost com-
pletely buried under snow and
glacier. On the west, its slopes
die out very gradually on the
Plain of Cayambe,^ and upon
this side they do not become
steep until one gets higher
than 13,000 feet. On the
south the angles are more
abrupt, and upon its eastern
side the mountain is precipi-
tous. It was formerly sup-
posed to be the only great
mountain, anywhere in the
world, immediately upon the

Equator, and it has become improbable that a loftier one will

ever be discovered exactly on the Line.

^ The Plain of Cayambe is bounded by Cayambe, Imbabura, and Mojanda.
Its drainage falls into the Rio de Guallabamba, and by the Esmeraldas into the
Pacific.

INGRATITUDE.

THEY PROWLED AROUND US AT NIGHT, AND LEFT THEIR FOOT-PRINTS IN THE SNOW,'

CHAP. XII. THE ESPWOSA GLACIER. 229

Leaving Verity behind to continue buying two-pennyworths of
bread until he had accumulated a sackful^, I went up to the
camp, and was received with open arms, as one risen from the
dead. The ten men searched until they found my track, and
divining my intentions had given me up for lost. They passed
the night of the 31st of March in lamentations, for the White
Valley down which I had made my way, Sen or Espinosa told
them, was pathless, inaccessible, and full of wild beasts. He
said it was useless to attempt to follow, and the thing to do
was to return to the village, to organize a search for my bones.
Pumas, indeed, were rather numerous in this neighbourhood. A
young horse belonging to Sefior Espinosa had just been killed by
one, and an Indian we passed reported that he had noticed another
roving about. Yet we never saw any, although they prowled
around us at night, and left their footprints in the snow.

The camp (14,762 feet) was established at the eastern end
of an upper prolongation of the Monk's Valley, and was com-
manded on the north by the precipitous cliffs along which I
had gone. On the east (that is to say, at the head of the
valley) there was a ridge descending a little to the west of south
from a secondary peak of Cayambe, and on the eastern side of
this there was a large glacier — invisible alike from our camp
and from the village — which my people had discovered during my
absence. This glacier was one of the finest we found in Ecuador,
having its birth in the snows at the upper part of the mountain,
and a length of several miles after it streamed away from the
central reservoir. The part nearest to the camp descended steeply,
in what is termed an ice-fall. There were no moraines nor even
stray rocks upon it, though there w*ere two small, lateral moraines
upon its western side, which shewed that rocks had risen above
the ice in former times, and that the glacier had been larger.

Our course led alongside and partly over these moraines to
the top of the secondary peak of which I have already spoken,
that juts out from Cayambe like the Aiguille du Gouter on

230 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

Mont Blanc, and affords a perfect stand-point for studying the
western side of the mountain. Its position is sufficiently indi-
cated by saying that it is at the head of the Monk's Valley and
the White Valley ; and it cannot be mistaken if it is added
that it lies south-west of the highest point of Cayambe, and is
elevated 16,164 feet above the sea/

The extreme top of this peak was flat, and the lava in situ
was strewn with small pieces of pumice and a number of
varieties of other lavas'^ (all, however, having a strong family
resemblance to each other) which doubtless were morainic matter,
and had been deposited there when the contiguous glacier rose
to a higher level. Growing amongst them, there was a quantity
of Andrema striata, Mitt., a moss of unattractive character,
which seemed to thrive in most exposed positions, and grew
both on naked lavas, amongst snow, or in damp volcanic ash.^

1 On April 3, at 11 a.m., the mercurial barometer No. 558 (reduced to 32°
Faht.) read 16-924 inches, air temperature 55° Faht. The 11 a.m. reading at
Guayaquil, reduced to 32° Faht., was 29*915 inches, air temp. 79° Faht.

2 " The rocks of Cayambe are very uniform in character, and of the same
general type as those of Chimborazo, Antisana (in part), and Pichincha (in part).
They are andesites, but as they contain hornblende and augite, as well as mica, it
is difficult to give them a distinctive name. . . Perhaps it is more appropriate to
classify these rocks with the augite-andesites, using the Avord hornblendic as a
qualifying epithet, except in the case of the second specimen described, which might
perhaps be termed a mica-andesite." — Proc. Hoyal Soc, June 19, 1884.

3 It had been already collected around the Second Camp on Chimborazo, upon
the summit of Corazon, and had been seen in the neighbourhood of the snow-line
generally.

In the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society for 1861, at pp. 184-190, there
is an account of a journey made by the late Dr. William Jameson, of Quito, to
Cayambe in 1859. He visited the lower slopes of the northern side of the mountain.
Botany was his principal object, and a list is given of seventy-eight species of
plants that he collected between the height of 10,000 feet and the neighbourhood
of the snow-line. In consequence of Dr. Jameson's labours, I did not devote any
time to the flora of Cayambe.

The altitudes given in this paper are generally too high. For Cayambe village
he quotes 9724 feet. According to my observations it is 9328 feet above the sea.
Messrs. Reiss & Stiibel say 9357 feet.

CHAP. XII. ROUTE UP CAYAMBE. 231

I called this peak the Pointe Jarrin, and the glacier the Espinosa
Glacier, after their proprietor.

Cayambe culminates in three domes or bosses, all completely
enveloped by snow-covered glacier. The only visible rock high
up on the western side is a small cliff, about 800 feet below
the northern of these three summits, which is capped by a
vertical section of ice, similar to that shewn in the plate facing
p. 76. From examination of this mountain at great distances,
it was known that the central boss was the highest. It bore
north-east from the Pointe Jarrin, and appeared to be more or
less accessible, though decorated at its crest with overhanging
cornices and surrounded by large crevasses. The course agreed
upon was 20° East of North for the first part of the way over
the lower glacier ; with the intention of bearing round to the
south, and steering directly for the summit, after having got
clear of the fissures at the head of the ice-fall. To save time
on the following day, I caused steps to be cut up the rounded
slopes of the glacier where they pressed against the Pointe
Jarrin, and in the course of the afternoon advanced food and
instruments to the edge of the ice.

On the 4th of April we left the tent at 4.40 a.m., and
walked by lantern-light as far as the top of the Pointe Jarrin.
The morning was fine and clear, and the view at this time
embraced almost all of the mountains which have hitherto been
enumerated.^ After traversing some flat and easy glacier, we

^ On the 6th of April I again ascended the Pointe Jarrin, and was more fortunate
than usual in getting angles for position. I observed the bearings on this occasion
of Mojanda, Imbabura, Cotocachi, Pichincha, Atacatzo, Corazon, Illiniza, Cotopaxi,
and Antisana. liuminahui, Pasochoa, and Sincholagua were clouded, and Cayambe
shut out the whole of the view to the east. The two peaks of Illiniza, 72 to 73
miles away, could be readily distinguished, and at this distance were 0° 45' apart.
Antisana (more than 40 miles away) looked huge, and we again saw the large,
snowy shoulder on its north-east. Below this, there was a wonderfully level ridge
running Out in the same direction, perhaps four or five miles farther. After that,
the slopes appeared to descend towards the east with great rapidity.

232 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

became involved in a complicated maze of snow-covered crevasses
at the head of the ice-fall of the Espinosa Glacier, which had
to be threaded cautiously. This was followed by moderately-
inclined slopes, and we then entered upon a large plain that
took three-quarters of an hour of steady going to cross. This
we called the Grand Plateau. Afterwards the slopes became
steeper, with occasional large open crevasses and numerous con-
cealed ones, and were rapid near the top, which was gained soon
after 10 o^clock in the morning.

Early in the day mists began to form and gather beneath
us, and we pushed on to endeavour to have a view from the
summit. At 9.30 a.m., when quite a short distance below the
highest point, we were well seen by a crowd assembled on the
Plaza of the village ; but in a few minutes more the clouds
caught us up, and we did not get out of them until the close of
the day.

The true summit of Cayambe is a ridge, running north and
south, entirely covered by glacier. Its height (deduced from the
mean of two readings of the mercurial barometer at 10.45 and
11 a.m.) is 19,186 feet, and this mountain is therefore the fourth
in rank of the Great Andes of the Equator.^ Of the other two
summits the northern one is the higher, and it is well-nigh
inaccessible, being almost surrounded by gigantic crevasses, and
surmounted by tufted cornices. The central or true summit pre-
sented fewer difficulties, though it was not altogether easy of
access. It was a stroke of good fortune to find a snow-bridge
across the highest crevasse, just under the place where there was
a break in the coronal cornice.

Glacier departs in all directions from the summit of Cayambe

1 The mean of these two readings (reduced to 33° Faht.) was 14-983 inches.
The 11 a.m. reading at Guayaquil (red. to 32° F.) was 29-915 inches, air tempera-
ture 79° Faht. At some future date it may perhaps appear that Cayambe is
third, and that Antisana is the fourth in ranli. There is, I imagine, a very slight
difference in the elevation of these two mountains.

CHAP. XII. ON THE SUMMIT OF CAYAMBE,

233

CAYAMBE (19,186 feet), FROM THE WEST.

in a manner that is seldom seen
on mountain-tops. From the huge schrunds that surrounded
the three bosses of the summit-ridge, on all sides, I think that
there are at no great depth beneath the surface several pinnacles
like those which form the summits of Sincholagua and Illiniza.
By persons who are familiar with glacier-clad eminences it will
be apprehended without saying that a slight diminution in the
thickness of the superincumbent ice may cause the apex of this
mountain to become inaccessible.

During the 83 minutes we remained on the summit, tem-
perature fluctuated between 32°-41° Faht. On arrival, the
wind was light, without any very pronounced direction. It
strengthened as day advanced, and soon after 11 a.m. blew in
squalls from the east, and we retired. The upper part of this
mountain was a regular battlefield for the winds. On several
occasions in the succeeding fortnight, when encamped southwards,
we saw their struggles for victory. If the east Avind conquered,

the whole mountain became invisible ; but if, as happened some-

234 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

times, a north-west wind prevailed, then the western side, and
even the rest, was seen.^

It being still early in the day, we diverged to the north
to get some samples of the highest rocks ; ^ and then followed
our track literally, as the mists were dense, — proceeding very
cautiously, ^ sounding ^^ at almost every step in consequence of the
increased softness of the snow, and grovelling on hands and knees
across the rotten bridges. We returned to camp at 3.40 p.m.

So far as I am aware, no attempt has hitherto been made
to bring together rates of speed which have been attained upon
mountains. Probably, they are not often well ascertained ; for
persons engaged in mountain-travel, or in mountaineering,
generally have their attention too much absorbed by inevitable
details, or by the novelty of their surroundings, to observe and
note with precision the times occupied, and the duration of halts.
It was necessary to observe the rates we attained in order to
form an opinion as to the effects of low pressures on the bodily
powers; and, whenever it was practicable, our times were noted.*

Upon Cayambe we attained our fastest ascending rate. We
left camp (14,762 feet) at 4,40 a.m., and arrived on the summit
(19,186) at 10.12 a.m.; the only positive halt being one of
ten or twelve minutes at the top of the Pointe Jarrin, to put
on rope and gaiters. In 320 minutes of actual going we rose

1 The east Avind was damp, and comparatively warm. There was a notable
difference in the height of the snow-line on different sides of the mountain. On
the west, there was no permanent snow so low as 16,000 feet above the level of
the sea.

^ The rocl<: (lava) of this cliff closely resembled that which had been taken
lower down, and Prof. Bonney informs me that microscopic examination shews
that the differences are only varietal. "Hornblende, iron-mica, and augite are
present, the last being the less conspicuous constituent."

3 Those who are acquainted with the technicalities of mountaineering are
referred to Scrambles amongst the Alps, p. 375, where a figure is shewn in the act
of ' sounding.'

* Several of our rates, which were well ascertained, are brought together in a
tabular form in Chapter XIX.

CHAP. XII. RATE OF ASCENT. 235

4424 feet, or 13-85 feet per minute ( = 831 feet per hour)/
Some may say this is not a fast rate ; or others may entertain
a contrary opinion, and argue that the ascent must have been
very easy to have permitted us to travel so quickly. It was no
part of my aim to make or to break ^ records ' ; and, personally,
I have no objection to the adoption of either of these opinions.

Whether fast or slow, I remarked that both of the Carrels
commenced to give indications of fatigue when we were about
18,000 feet high. Jean-Antoine was a man who always wished
to be in front, and if he yielded up the lead voluntarily it was
a sure sign that he was tired. In ascending the last twelve
hundred feet, although the axes were little used and we seldom
sank more than a foot in the snow, the men changed places,
and took the lead alternately, perhaps a dozen times. Louis
had no desire to retain it, — indeed, I think it may be said that
neither of them could have held it for any length of time.
Although these changes scarcely occupied a minute apiece, I
found the little stoppages very convenient. Instead of hindering,
they probably assisted progress ; and it should be added, to the
credit of the cousins, that this ascent was made without a fault.
There was no retracing of steps, and doing work twice over.
Due to this, our ascending rate, on that day, was better than
the average.

We had now paid some attention to the first, second, third
and fourth of the Great Andes of the Equator. There was no
likelihood of finding their supremacy disputed ; for my prede-
cessors agreed that these mountains towered head and shoulders
above all the rest, and they were in general agreement as to the
order in which the others followed. According to La Condamine,
and Reiss and Stiibel, Altar, Sangai and Illiniza were next in
rank.

1 The descending rate is not known, on account of the detour. We left the
summit at 11.35 a.m. ; arrived on Pointe Jarrin at 2.40 p.m. ; stopped thirty
minutes, and then went down in another half-hour to the camp.

236 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xii.

In the Geografia de la Repuhlica del Ecuador of Dr. M. Villa-
vicencio I had, however, lighted upon a reference to a mountain
called Sara-urcu, which is not, I believe, mentioned either by
La Condamine, Humboldt or Boussingault. Its height, according
to Villavicencio, was 17,276 feet (6210 varas). As this closely
approximated to the elevation assigned to Altar, Sangai and
Illiniza, it seemed not impossible that the mountain might prove
to be the fifth in rank ; and before quitting the neighbourhood
I proposed to hunt it down, being the more moved to do so
because it was said to be situated well to the east, and might
afford another chance of having a glimpse of the great, unknown
Amazonian basin.

At Quito I was unable to procure any information as to the
location of Sara-urcu. Few persons were acquainted with the
name ; but when Sefior Espinosa heard me mention it he said
that the mountain (and all the country to the east) belonged to
liim, and that he would indicate its direction. AVhen we first
started for Cayambe, Sefior Espinosa did point out a vague
something in the clouds which he said was Sara-urcu. We did
not actually see the mountain until the 4th of April, and then
it appeared only for a few seconds, just long enough to obtain
an idea of its position. In those few seconds we saw that we
should in all probability be able to ascend it, if its base could
be reached.

Before leaving Cayambe, I sent Jean-Antoine with David in
advance, to see if they could light upon another camping-place
in the right direction ; retaining Louis and Verity to assist in
■collecting. In the neighbourhood of the camp (that is to say,
-either a little above or below 15,000 feet above the level of the
,sea) we found the nine beetles that are mentioned below, ^

1 ^Colpodes pustulosus, Bates {Supp. App., p, 14); *C. rotundiceps, Bates (p. 15);
^C. fusipalpis, Bates (p. 17); C. steno, Bates (p. 20, with Figure); ^Trechus sp. ;
Bembidhim fulvocinctum, Bates (p. 22) ; Naupactus parvicollis, Olliff (p. 67) ;
^Listroderes inco7ispicuus, Olliff (p. 69) ; and Erirrhinus glaber, Olliff (p. 76).
Those marked by asterisks were found only on Cayambe.

CHAP. XII. COLPODES. 237

including three species of Colpodes which were obtained only at
this locality. We had already obtained members of this genus
at great heights on several other mountains, and on Pichincha
had been struck by the fact that they existed in considerable
numbers amongst frozen soil. The two which have been named
by Mr. Bates C. megaceplialiis and C. PichinchcB came from
Guagua-Pichincha, the former from the summit-ridge (at 15, GOO
feet), and the latter from the second camp (14,992 feet). In
each case they were discovered whilst breaking out rock speci-
mens, and were found in colonies, thriving amongst stones which
were cemented together with ice. Some species of Colpodes come
from more genial zones, but the larger part of those we obtained
enjoyed life under very frigid conditions. The minima of the
four nights Ap. 2-Ap. 5 inclusive, were 27°, 31°, 24° -5, and 24°
Faht. respectively, degrees of cold sufficient to hard freeze the
surface of the soil ; which, further, was usually covered with snow
in the morning.

The scouts returned, bringing a good report ; declaring that
they had found a regular palace — an old Indian diwoilmg, jjlanted
all round ivith shrubs — which would permit the tents to be
dispensed with ; and we broke up camp on the 6th, to go to
this wonderful place, expecting they had either dropped upon
an edifice of prehistoric age, or on some relic of the dusky Incas.

CHARMS ?

LA DORMIDA DE MAYORAZZO.

CHAPTEE XIII.

THE FIRST ASCENT OF SAKA-URCU.

Upox leaving Cayambe on the 6th of April, we came down three
thousand feet by a buttress or ridge running out towards the
south-south-west, and then turned to the east ; camping that
night in the ' palace surrounded by shrubs ' — the structure
represented at the head of this chapter — which was called La
Dormida (the sleeping-place) de Mayorazzo (11,805 feet), a good
thing of its kind, though not very palatial ; and at this lower
level we got again into a warmer climate. In the daytime
temperature was higher than 50° Faht., and the lowest minimum
was well above freezing-point (38° 'S).

La Dormida was a hut occasionally used by herdsmen when
searching for strayed cattle, and was situated in a wood — almost
a forest ; surrounded by fallen and decayed trunks, laden with

CHAP. xrii. GONZALO PIZARRO CROSSES THE ANDES. 239

mosses^ growing luxuriantly, thickly caked and interlaced upon
the rotten bark. In the clearing around the edifice little birds
hopped about fearlessly, and at night clouds of moths ^ sailed
into the tent, attracted by the lights.

The valley in which La Dormida is situated forms the
southern boundary of Cayambe ; and at its head, two or three
miles more to the east, there is the divide or water-parting of
the streams flowing into the Pacific and Atlantic. The Avhole
of the drainage of the eastern side of Cayambe goes into the
Atlantic. Most of the streams flowing down its southern slopes,
and all of those upon its west, fall into the Pacific.

Somewhere not far away, perhaps over this very ground,
Gonzalo Pizarro, ^ the most dexterous with the lance of any man
that ever passed into the New World, ^ ' the most beloved man
in all Peru,^ crossed the Andes in 1540 (it is said) with 340
Spaniards, 4000 Indians, and about 4000 Swine, to look for
' the Land of Cinnamon ' ; on the memorable expedition which
resulted in the discovery of the River Amazons by his lieutenant
Orellana, and in the death of the greater part of the explorers.''

The exact route taken by Gonzalo Pizarro cannot I think
be told with certainty from the relation of Garcilasso de la
Vega.* It is, however, certain that he crossed and recrossed the

1 Thuidium delicatulum, Lindb, ; Sematopkyllum subscabrum, Mitt. ; S. pungens,
Mitt. ; J)idymodon, near acutifoUus, Jaeg. ; Fbrotrichum variabile, Hampe ; Neckera
Jamesoni, Tayl. ; Lejeunia sp. ; Aneura sp, ; and Dicranum speciosum, Hook, ct
Wils.

^ Eariraene excelsa, var. (very numerous) ; Halsidota suffusa, H.S. ; Agrotis sp. ;
Epiolus sordUus, H.S. ; and others.

3 See The Royal Commentaries of Peru, by Garcilasso de la Vega (translated by
Sir Paul Rycaut), fol., Lond., 1688, pp. 601-7, 631-3.

^ It is said that ujjon starting Pizarro went through ' the Province of Quixos,
which lies North from Q%iitu ' ; that he returned to the north of his outward
route ; and that when he re-arrived in the interior some of the inhabitants of
Quito went thirty leagues to succour him. Little dependence, I imagine, can be
placed upon the figures. Inasmuch as the trail through Papallacta is the only
known way across the Eastern Andes, at the present time, in the neighbourhood

240 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

Andes somewhere near the Equator ; and that this valiant leader,
and his picked band of hardy adventurers, found that to over-
come the natural difficulties of the region was a harder task
than the Conquest of Peru. '' The most irresistible of all was
Hunger, that grievous and cruel Enemy of Man and Beast,
which hath been so fatal to both in that uninhabited Countrey.''^
From what we could learn of the people of Cayambe (and
this was very little) the natural difficulties of the neighbourhood
had not been overstated. It was not of course for a moment
believed that we were attracted here by any such ridiculously
transparent motive as the determination of the elevation of a
mountain. In their eyes there was another allurement. Sara-
urcu was said to contain boundless riches — much gold and silver
— which, it was delicately hinted, we might perhaps discover.
Upon arrival at La Dormida two men were found in waiting ' to
assist^ us. One of them — a very old Indian — being physically
an infant, I sent back to his village. The other was a tough-
looking half-breed, whom I called ' The Spy ' ; and in order that
he might do that for which he was sent I despatched him, with

of the Equator, it seems probable that Gonzalo Pizarro went by that route. It
is still customary for persons proceeding by it to go a few miles to the north on
leaving Quito, though they speedily bear round to the east. The words Rio de
los Quixos will be found on the Maldonado map, to the east of Antisaiia.

1 " By reason of the continual Rains, and moisture of the Earth, their woollen
Cloths and linen being always wet, became rotten, and dropped from their Bodies,
so that from the highest to the lowest every Man was naked, and had no other
covering than some few Leaves. . . So great, and so insupportable were the Miseries
which Oonzalo Pigarro and his Companions endured for want of Food, that the
four thousand Indians which attended him in this Discovery, perished with Famine.
. . Likewise of the three hundred and forty Spaniards which entred on this
Discovery, two hundred and ten dyed, besides the fifty which were carried away
by Orellana. . . Their Swords they carried without Scabbards, all covered with
rust, and they walked barefoot, and their Visages were become so black, dry and
withered, that they scarce knew one the other ; in which condition they came at
length to the Frontiers of Quitu, where they kissed the Ground, and returned
Thanks to Almighty God, who had delivered them out of so many and so imminent
dangers." — The Royal Commentaries of Peru, p. 632.

CHAP. XIII. A CAMP IN A SWA3IP, 241

most of the others, ou the 7th, 8th, and 9th to explore in the
direction of Sara-urcu.

At this time I was feverish, and found my internals going
wrong, from the last few days^ experiences ; and remained in
the hut under a pile of ponchos, directing operations. The
scouts came back with bad reports. The animals, they said,
could go no farther ; there was an end to paths and trails, except
occasional wild-beast tracks ; there was nothing whatever to eat,
and everything must be carried ; there was no place to camp
upon, the whole country was a dismal swamp ; and everlasting
rain w^as falling ; so much so that, although they supposed they
had been near to Sara-urcu, they were quite unable to be sure.
On discussion, it was concluded that the tents must be left
behind, as we were not strong enough to carry both them, the
wraps and food. Hence it was indispensable to find a place
which would afford some protection against weather, and wild-
animals ; and on the third day they reported an overhanging
cliff' which would answer sufficiently well. It was arranged that
Cevallos should remain at La Dormida to care for his beasts,
with the Jovial Man to go to and fro between the village and
the hut transporting provisions, which Avere to be brought to
the front by A^erity and the Spy ; while David acted as camp-
keeper at the advanced post, and the Carrels and I pursued
exploration.

April 10. From La Dormida towards Corredor MacUai. We
made a forward move, leaving Cevallos and his assistant at the
hut to tend the animals and keep up communications ; half of
the rest going in advance, while the others including myself
waited for some additional food from Cayambe village. This
arrived late, and delayed us so much that we could not reach
the next camping-place by nightfall, and had to stop in a swamp,
on a spot where, if you stood still, you sank up to the knees
in slime. This place was just on the divide, nearly 13,000 feet
above the sea, and during the greater part of the eleven hours

2 I

242 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

night sleet or rain fell, rendering it well-nigh impossible to keep
up a fire out of the sodden materials. For me the men con-
structed a sort of floating bed, cutting down reeds, and crossing
and recrossing them, piling them up until they no longer sank
in the slime. For themselves they made smaller platforms of a
similar description, and sat on their heels during the whole night,
trying to keep up a fire.

April 11. At Corredor Macliai. We advanced and rejoined
the others, having to pass through country more difficult than
any we had hitherto traversed. The land was entirely marshy,
even where the slopes were considerable ; and upon it there was
growing a reedy grass to the height of eight to ten feet,^ in
such dense masses as to be nearly impenetrable. The machetas
were found inadequate. It would have taken several weeks'
labour of our whole party to have cleared a track over a single
mile. The only way of getting through was by continually
parting the reeds with the hands (as if swimming), and as they
were exceedingly stiff they sprang back directly we let go, and
shut us out from each other's sight. The edges of the leaves
cut like razors, and in a short time our hands were streaming
with blood, for we were compelled to grasp the stems to pre-
vent ourselves from sinking into the boggy soil. On this day
we crossed the divide, and the streams now flowed towards the
Atlantic. The wliole country was like a saturated spo7ige.

We joined the others in due course, under an overhanging
cliff of silvery mica-slate,^ which we afterwards found was known
by the name of Corredor Machai, or the hunter's refuge. It

1 This has been identified by Prof. D. Oliver with the Cliusquea aristata of
Munro, — a reedy grass which is only known to grow in this region,

2 "A rather fine-grained micaceous gneiss. The slaty formation is evidently
due to a rough cleavage traversing the rock, on the planes of which a silvery mica
has been rather largely developed. . . The structure of the rock is perplexing ;
it must undoubtedly be classed with the crystalline schists, but I suspect that
the very marked schistosity is a secondary development due to crushing." — Prof. T.
G. Bonney, Proc. Boyal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884.

THE BEDROOM

THE KITCHEN

AT CAMP ON THE EQUATOR, AT CORREDOR MACHAI (12,779 FEET).

CHAP. XIII.

WE ARE TICKLED.

243

was almost the only spot where it was possible to camp, and it
afforded good protection on one side, of which we were glad, as
there were nnmerons tracks of bears, pumas and
other wild-beasts about. The lurch forward of the
cliff prevented rain falling directly upon us, unless
it blew from the north-east ; but everything burn-
able was dripping with moisture,^ and the sur-
rounding land was so wet that water oozed or even
squirted out in jets when it was trodden upon.
Corredor Machai was placed on the southern side of
a small valley, descending north-west, with several
depressions (passes ?) at its head.

At mid - day despatched two men acfross the
valley to advance provisions in the direction in
which we supposed Sara-urcu was situated. It had
not yet been seen, and our view was limited by
the mists to the immediate surroundings. They
returned with a human skull which they had picked
up not far away. '' I know that skull, '^ said the
Spy ; "it belonged to a man who went out search-
ing for quinine bark. There were twenty of them
altogether, and four came back. This one laid down
to sleep, a snow-storm came on, and he did not
wake again. ^^'^ Sent some of the people to bring
up more food from La Dormida, and made the rest
hew down reeds to construct ' one man bed-rooms.'
Laid the reeds sloping against the foot of the cliff,
leaving room enough behind to creep into. Many
spiders about ; some very ticklish. Examined one
with a lens, and found out why.

1 We found paraffin oil of great use in starting fires when fuel was damp. It
was employed here, and at all our high camps. A few pints of it were always
carried.

2 Searching for Chinchona trees, to strip them of their bark, is a favourite
occupation in this country.

A HIND-LEG OF A

SPIDER FROM

CORREDOR MACHAI.

244 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

April 12. Corredor Machai to Cmnp on Sara-urcu. Advanced
with the Carrels to the place where food was deposited yesterday,
and left the others at Corredor Machai to keep up communica-
tions. Whilst descending to the bottom of our valley, saw a
large bear walking along the other side, going straight ahead
through the reeds as if they interposed no obstacle. Shouted
to it, but it scarcely deigned to notice us, and only just turned
its head aside for a moment, and went on into a thicket of
scrub. Tracks of wild animals aiforded assistance, as the reeds
had often been trodden down. Passed several cattle lairs. The
slopes here were as swampy as upon the other side.

Seldom saw two hundred yards in any direction on this day.
Eain fell incessantly in a steady mizzle. Encamped in the
afternoon against a bit of cliff with very slightly overhanging
rock, at the height of 13,754 feet,^ not knowing where we were,
though believing we were close upon Sara-urcu. No fire possible.
Minimum in night 35° ; and, at 6 a.m. on the 13th, 36° '5 Faht.

April 13. In Camp on Sara-urcu. Made small excursions,
to find out where we were. Discovered nothing, beyond a large
glacier on the north, which we conjectured proceeded from our
mountain. Sent the Carrels out in different directions exploring,
and endeavoured to improve shelter. Built a low wall of clods
and stones round the open side, — an addition which made the
place as comfortable as an ordinary ditch on a winter^s night.

Jean-Antoine came back hurriedly in the afternoon, looking
behind him nervously. ^^ Why, Carrel, man, what is the matter V
'^ Monsieur," said he, '^ just now I was over there, looking at
the glacier to find a way down, when I heard a noise behind,
and turning round saw two big bulls a few yards off, with
their heads down, ready to pitch me over the precipice. I ran
away up a rock, and they came after me ; and one stood on one

* The Mercurial Barometer at 6 p.m. on April 12 (reduced to 32° Faht.) read
18"278 inches, air temperature 40° Faht. The simultaneous reading at Guayaquil
(red. to 32°) was 29'917 inches, air temperature 78° Faht.

CHAP. xni. INCESSANT RAINS. 245

side, and the other on the other ; and when I tried to escape
on one side they both came there, and when I tried the other
side they both went tltere, but at last I escaped, and here I
am, quite out of breath/' ^''Monsieur,'' he said, ^^on my word
of honour, they were as fat as butter, and skipped about Hke
chamois ! "

April 14. From Camp on Sara-urcu to Corredor Macliai. It
rained all night. Temperature in our hole was 36° '75 Faht. at
daybreak'. This was a miserable place for protection against the
Aveather. Nothing reasonably overhanging could be found. The
loose stones, lying about, were either boulders too large to move,
or too small to be of use. Shelter consisted solely of our three
mackintosh ponchos, suspended from the Manilla rope. Large
seams of massive quartz were a feature here. Nothing more
golden was found than some glittering pyrites.

Rain continued without intermission. No one at Oayambe
had spoken about these incessant rains. From the aspect of the
country (so different from any other part of Ecuador), from
the saturation of the hills, the innumerable small pools, streamlets
and springs, I am convinced they are nearly perpetual. Being
thoroughly sodden, and without the means of drying ourselves,
we descended in the afternoon to Corredor Machai. Arrived
drenched from the waist downwards.

Occasional glimpses of the country to the south (between
Sara-urcu and Antisana) shewed that it contained a number
of small ranges, without any single peak rising notably higher
than the rest. Many were loftier than our station, and the
highest are probably about 14,500 feet above the sea. No
mountain was snow-covered, though there were numerous small
patches of snow upon many of the peaks. I imagine that this
district is entirely uninhabited.

Found five men who had come up with a letter to Verity
from the Jefo-politico, saying that there was a strong report
in the village that we were lost. Got rid of them as soon as

246 TRAVELS A3I0NOST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

possible, as they brought nothing, and ate up food we wanted.
People grumbling, and wanting to return.

April 15. At Corredor Machai. Started Verity and David
at 4 a.m. to hurry up provisions, as we are now reduced to
biscuit and water. It continued to rain incessantly. This
night while dozing in my den, I thought the stars had at last
come out. Found that the light proceeded from a luminous
beetle. Caught it, and put it into methylated spirit.^

"Disputes have been, and still prevail,
From whence his rays proceed,
Some give that honour to his tail.
And others to his head."

Or, at least, so says a Poet. Though this insect must have
expired in a minute or two after immersion, it glowed for
several hours ; and gave enough light to tell the time by my
watch, and to read the small writing in my Journal. The light
was emitted from the two abdominal segments next above the
lowest one. Min. temp, at night 39° '5 Faht.

April 16. At Corredor Machai. At mid-day temperature
rose to 58° Faht. ! In the afternoon, the Jovial Man and the
Spy arrived with meat, bread, and other things just at the
right time, and soon afterwards it left off raining. AYith the
exception of about twelve hours in all, it has rained continu-
ously from the night of the 10th until now. At 4 p.m. mists
cleared away a little, and at 5 we saw Sara-urcu. Got its
bearing and sketched it.'^ In a few minutes the mountain was
invisible again. Arranged for a forced march to-morrow.

All the reeds round about our platform at the base of the
cliff had been cut or beaten down, so that the view should not
be impeded. The mountain appeared nearly in the place wo

^ Mr. Gorham identifies this insect as a male Photinus longipennis of Motschul-
sky, and says it is common in Colombia. I had previously obtained a female at
La Dorraida. See Supp. App., p. 48.

2 It was useless to try to photograph in this misty atmosphere. One could
not work with the camera with the same certainty as with the pencil.

CHAP. XIII.

SARA-URCU.

247

left

expected, on the northern side
and at the head of the valley.
Saw that it was surrounded
by glaciers on the south. The
summit seemed to be a sharp snow peak. This
appearance we knew was delusive.

April 17. Ascent of Sara-U7'cu. Left Corredor
Machai at 5.30 a.m. Foggy. Went as before
across the valley, a little to the north of east.
Rain fell 6 to 8 a.m. Passed camp on Sara-urcu
at 8.55, picking up necessaries which had been
there in readiness. Then steered east ; rounded the slopes

248

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

of the ridge bounding the southern side of the large glacier pro-
ceeding from our mountain ; passed the base of a small lateral
glacier and took to the ice at 10.50 a.m. Put on the rope.
Could not see a hundred yards in any direction. Steered east-
south-east.

The summit of Sara-urcu bore almost exactly due east from
Corredor Machai, and an east-south-east course was calculated
to bring us right upon it. To return steering by compass was
more dubious. We did not apprehend losing ourselves on land ;
nor upon snow and glacier, even in a fog, if our track was not
obliterated. There was every probability that it would be
quickly effaced ; while it would be necessary, to escape from the
glacier, to hit off the exact 23lace where we took to it. It was
by no means certain that we could do this, trusting to the com-
pass alone ; for it is very difficult to hold to one general course
in a fog, when courses have to be changed every other minute,
as they must necessarily be upon crevassed glacier.

To ensure our return, Louis
therefore carried a quantity of
four-foot lengths of the reed
tops, to place as guide-marks
on the glacier ; and planted

TURNING AN ENEMY TO ACCOUNT.

CHAP. XIII. ON THE SUM3IIT OF SARA-URCU. 249

another as soon as the last one he had fixed became dim.
AVhile this scarcely hindered progress, it allowed us to proceed
with greater confidence. We rose steadily, crossing many cre-
vasses ; and when about 15,000 feet high suddenly emerged
from the clouds, and found ourselves face to face with the
pointed snow peak. Behind this, a wall of snow ^ led to the
true top.

With out-turned toes we went cautiously along the crisp arete,
sharp as a roof-top, and at 1.30 p.m. stood on the true summit
of Sara-urcu ; a shattered ridge of gneiss — wonder of wonders,
blue sky above ^ — strewn with fragments of quartz, and mica-
schist similar to that at Corredor Machai,^ without a trace of
vegetation. The usual atmospheric conditions prevailed. Oay-
ambe and all the rest was shut out by unfathomable, impenetrable
mists, limiting the view to a few hundred yards around the
summit, which was surrounded by glaciers on all sides.'' Tem-
perature rose and fell as puffs of steamy air came from the
great cauldron on the east. The barometer stood at 17 '230
inches,^ and thus it was clear that Sara-urcu was not the fifth

1 This is nearly concealed in the view upon p. 247.

2 But no sunshine. The sun, I believe, was not seen by us from the 5th to
the 20th of April.

3 In the moraine at the margin of the ice where we first took to the glacier
there was much ferruginous quartz, and iron pyrites, the origin perhaps of the
rumoured treasures of Sara-urcu.

The rock in situ at the summit was "a rather fine-grained gneiss, containing
quartz, felspar, dark mica, with probably a little chlorite and epidote. . . All the
specimens brought from Sara-urcu are metamorphic rocks. They do not, indeed,
belong to the earliest types, such as the coarse gneisses of the Hebrides, but still
they are greatly altered." — Prof. T. G. Bonney, in Proc. Royal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884.

^ We could not at any time see the full length of the large glacier on the west
of Sara-urcu, or even across it. It appeared to bend round towards the north. The
glaciers on the south side of the mountain are small. There was another one,
descending towards the north-east, which, so far as could be seen, was more
considerable.

^ On April 17, at 1.45 p.m., the Mercurial Barometer (reduced to 32° Faht.)
read 17"230 inches, air temperature 46° Faht. The 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. observations

250 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

in rank of the Andes of the Equator, and indeed was less in
height than several of the minor peaks which had been already
ascended.

Surprised by darkness before we could arrive at Corredor
Machai, another miserable night had to be passed at the upper
station. On the 18th we descended, and took ourselves off as
speedily as possible. After the reed, the chief Botanical feature
of the valley in which the ' Hunter's refuge ' was placed was the
extraordinary manner in which the twigs and branches of such
trees as were there were laden — almost stifled — with the lichen
Usnea harhata, Fries. This lichen and the Chusquea were the two
dominant species, and put nearly everything else out of sight.
The flora here is probably extensive. Close to the rock there
were Currant bushes in flower, a Fuchsia {F. Loxensis, H.B.K.)
at the greatest height these plants were seen, and Ferns were
numerous, although concealed.^ But all the botanical treasures
in Ecuador would not have enticed us to stop. We turned our
backs on this super-saturated place with the greatest possible
pleasure ; passed the nights of the 18th and 19th at La Dormida,
and on the 20th returned to Cayambe village, understanding
better than when we left it why Gonzalo Pizarro kissed the ground
when he stood again on terra fir ma.

Such information as I brought from Sara-urcu differs materi-

at Guayaquil (red. to 32° F.) were 29'912 and 29*859 inches, air temperatures,
respectively, being 80° and 81° Faht. During our stay on the summit, temperature
fluctuated between 43° -5— 55° Faht.

Flies, evidently stragglers, of three distinct species were captured on the summit.
Like the rest of the Diptera, they remain undescribed.

1 The following were some of the more common species round about Corredor
Machai. Lichens •.—Bceomyccs imbricahis, Hooker (abundant) ; Parmelia Kam-
tschadalis, Eschw.; Sticta laciniata, Ach. (abundant) ; Sticta sp,; and Usnea harhata,
Fries (very abundant). Mosses -.—Breutelia sp. ; Daltonia hilimhata, Hampe ;
Hypnum cupressiforme^ Linn., var. ; H. Schreheri, Willd. (abundant) ; 3fetzgeria
clavcejiora, Spruce; Mniurn rostratum, Schrad.; Plagiochila sp.; and Rhizogonium
mnioides, Schimp. Ferns:— Clieilanthes scariosa, Kaulf.; Hymertophyllum sericeitm,
Sw.; and Polypodium suhsessile, Baker.

CHAP. XIII. THE HEIGHT OF SARA-URCU. 251

ally from the statements made about that mountain by Villavi-
cencio. He gives in his Geografia 6210 varas as its height ; ^ upon
his map, places it south of east of Quito and south-soiith-iuest of
Cayambe (mountain), near Papallacta ; he quotes from A^elasco '^
to the effect that it was a volcano which formerly emitted fire,
and he says it has latterly ejected ashes, producing consternation
in the Capital, whence it is distant thirty-five miles/ I found
that Sara-urcu is only 15,502 feet high, and is placed south-east
by south of Cayambe (mountain) ; that it is not a volcano, and
cannot have emitted fire and ejected ashes ; and that it lies con-
siderably to the 710 rth of east of Quito, at the distance of about
forty-five English miles. Instead of being the fifth in altitude
of the G-reat Andes of the Equator, it proved to be the lowest of
all the snow-peaks, and considerably inferior in elevation to
several which scarcely reach the snow-line.

Before we left Cayambe I pursued enquiries for Cyclojnum
{P imelochts) cyclopum. In the first volume of the Zoology of
Humboldt and Bonpland's Journey, a description,'' and a figure
drawn on the spot by Humboldt himself, of this fish are given,
which is said (p. 23) to be the oyily one found in the ' Kingdom
of Quito' at heights above 8752 feet (1400 toises). This state-
ment is in itself somewhat remarkable, and the information which

^ Reckoning the vara at 2"782 English feet, 6310 varas are equal to 17,276
English feet. I am not aware what foundation he had for this statement.
Possibly, he heard that the mountain bore large glaciers, and conjectured that its
elevation must be near those of the other glacier-bearing Andes.

^ I have not been able to find a reference to this mountain in Velasco.

^ " Segun refiere el P. Velasco en su historia de Quito, este volcan ha arrojado
llamas por dos veces ; mas, en estos liltimos aiios, ha arrojado gran cantidad de
cenizas volcanicas, por Diciembre de 1843, i por el mismo mes, en 1856. La primera
de estas erupciones duro dos dias, i puso en mucha consternacion a los habitantes
de Quito, i a sus pueblos circumvecinos. La altura de esta montaiia es de 6210
varas sobre el mar. . . Esta situado a 35 millas E. de Quito." — Oeografia de la
Repuhlica del Ecuador, por Manuel Villavicencio, 8vo, New York, 1858, pp. 52-53.

* Vol. i, pp. 21-25, PI. 7. Memoire sur une nouvelle espece de Pimelode, jctee par-
ies volcans du Royaume de Quito.

252 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

accompanies the description is extraordinary. Humboldt says
that during minor eruptions of Cotopaxi, Tunguragua, and Sangai,
and eruptions or convulsions of Imbabura and Carihuairazo,
immense numbers — thousands — of these fish (which he calls
Pimelodus cyclopum) are thrown out ; that they are sometimes
ejected from the craters at the summits of these mountains, and
sometimes through fissures in their slopes ; curious to say, " con-
stantly at the elevation of 15,986-16,626 feet (3500 to 2600
toises) above the sea/' He speaks of this as a regular occurrence
in the case of the first three named mountains, and says that the
pestilential odours which arise from the decay of these fish cause
fevers, etcetera.

The most wonderful part of the story has yet to come. These
fish, which are supposed to be ejected from the craters of fiery
volcanoes 17,000 to 19,500 feet above the sea, or from fissures at
heights of 16,000 to 16,600 feet, are said to reach the plains alive,
after they have tumbled or have been washed all the way down
the sides of the mountains. The distinguished traveller adds,
cautiously, '^'^this fact does not appear to me to be sufficiently
vouched for^' ; but says, immediately afterwards, ^^ What is certain
is that, amongst the thousands of dead fish one sees come down
from Cotopaxi there are very few sufficiently disfigured to let
one believe that they have been exposed to great heat. This
fact becomes more striking when we consider the soft flesh of
these animals. . . It appeared very interesting for Natural His-
tory to verify the nature of these animals.'^ For the rest let me
refer the reader to the original, or to Aspects of Nature, vol. ii,
p. 231, where the same story is given in different words.

It will, I think, be gathered from the original, that Humboldt
did not himself see any of the fish which were said to have been
^ ejected.^ He identified them with the fish which are found in
ponds, lakes, and streams throughout the interior of Ecuador, and
it was one of these latter that he figured and described. He
commits himself, however, to a belief in the story by the passage

CHAP. XIII. A FIRE-PROOF FISH, 253

commencing " What is certain/' and especially by the title of his
paper (Memoir upon a new species of Pimelode throivyi out by the
Volcanoes of the Kingdom of Quito). In Aspects of Naiure he
says that these fish live in subterranean reservoirs in the Vol-
canoes. There seems no limit to the credulity of man. All these
marvels have been frequently embodied in works treating upon
Natural History, without protest.

I venture to point out that from 12,000 feet upwards the
slopes of Cotopaxi are iininliabited ; that the height of 16,000 to
16,600 feet is an altitude to which the natives of Ecuador never
go under ordinary circumstances, still less would they be there
during an eruption ; and that no one can possibly affirm from
personal knowledge that these fish have ever been thrown out
from the crater, or from fissures at the height of 16,000 feet.

From 15,000 feet upwards the cone of Cotopaxi was found
to be so warm as to quickly liquefy snow which fell upon it
(see p. 142). At 19,500 feet the face of the slope was observed
to have a temperature of 50° Faht., and at the depth of eight feet
110° Faht. (see p. 148). At this height, water boiled at 179° '1
Faht. It was clear that at a very moderate distance below the
surface the boiling-point of water would be reached. A subter-
ranean reservoir of quite small dimensions would necessarily be
surrounded by rock at a temperature probably much exceeding
the boiling-point of water.

As it is stated that the fish which are supposed to have been
ejected from the crater, or to have been expelled from the subter-
ranean reservoirs, were frequently alive, and had their flesh in
good preservation, it appears to me there is stronger evidence
against the notion that they dwell in subterranean reservoirs than
in favour of it. Fish cannot emerge in this rough manner from
boiling-water or from super-heated steam alive, and with their
skins intact. Yet I do not like to abandon all belief in this pet
story of childhood, as wonderful in its way as the history of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Possibly, after some eruptions

254 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiii.

and earthquakes large numbers of these fish have been found out of
water^ but this would not prove ejection by or from the volcanoes.
Floods occasionally pour down the slopes of Cotopaxi, causing
rivers to swell and to overflow their banks (see pages 127, 138,
and 159) ; and it would be no marvel if during such inundations
multitudes of fish were borne from their native haunts, and left
stranded when the waters subsided. Also, during earthquakes,
fissures opening in the earth may change the courses of streams ;
or might, by intersecting the beds of pools, drain them and leave
shoals of fish high and dry, living and unscathed. In these possi-
bilities there is, I imagine, the sub-stratum of truth upon which
a mountain of fable has been raised.

In an indirect manner, the statement that Pimelochis cyclopum
is the only fish found in the interior above 8750 feet has been
questioned. Other travellers have brought home fish from this
region, on several occasions, which have been described under
various names. In a paper in the American Naturalist for 1871
(pp. 694-5), Dr. Putnam, however, advanced the opinion that the
whole of these so-called different species should be referred to
one, somewhat variable, species ; and as the descriptions had been
based upon a small number of examples I thought it was advisable
to collect freely, in order that the matter might be re-investigated.

Machachi was the first place where enquiries were made, and
I introduced the matter there to the tambo-keeper, who at once
declared that several kinds of fish could be found in the neigh-
bouring streams. "My good Antonio,^" said I, '^''if you will only
shew me two kinds I will give you five pesos." This manner of
approaching the subject commended itself to the landlord, and
he soon brought examples ; but, although there were differences
amongst them, Antonio Eacines did not earn the reward ; for
when they were placed side by side he was obliged to confess
that they were all one kind. Yet he maintained to the last that
other fish were to be found in the interior of Ecuador, and that
they grew six, seven to eight inches long.

CHAP. XIII. A FISH DINNER. 255

From the Machachi specimens I selected young and old, and
those presenting most variety ; and at Cayambe made friends with
the schoolmaster, and induced him to send his scholars to scour
the streams and ponds. Nothing could have suited the urchins
better. Pimelodus cyclopum began to arrive from all points of
the compass. They filled a bucket, and I had to cry " StojD ! ^'
Again I made a selection, and enquired ^^What shall we do with
the rest ? ''^ ^' Eat them,"'' said the Jefo-politico ; and they were
cooked and consumed, and were found not to be more nasty than
other small fry composed principally of heads and tails. Here
again slight differences could be noted, but no one could venture
to say that there were two species. At Chillo, and Kiobamba,
I again procured a large number, with similar results.

Out of the many hundreds which passed through my hands,
none exceeded four inches in length. Fifty-one were preserved,
and submitted upon my return to the independent examination
of the late Dr. F. Day, who coincided with the views expressed
by Dr. Putnam, and therefore upheld the statement originally
made by Humboldt.^ Pimelodus cycloj^um (proposed by Dr.
Putnam to be called Cyclopium cyclopiwi) is found throughout
the interior of Ecuador generally, from 8500 to 10,000 feet above
the sea ; ^ in streams flowing both into the Atlantic and Pacific ;
and in ponds, pools and lakes quite disconnected. It swims with
a wriggly action ; comes frequently to the surface to breathe ;
and often appears to be blind, or at least to see very imperfectly.
It should be repeated, however, that a number of Ecuadorians
stoutly maintained that there were other fish in the streams, as
much as a foot in length ; and I have no reason to doubt their
sincerity, although they failed to produce examples.

^ Dr. Day's remarks will be found in the Supplementary Appendix^ pp. 13T-9,
accompanied by figures of this fish seen from above, below, and in profile.

2 And perhaps much higher. I was unable to investigate the numerous ponds
and pools on Antisana, the small lake at the foot of the cone of Cotopaxi, and
the larger one upon Mojanda.

OHAPTEE XIV.

OK THE PEOVINCE OF IMBABUKA, AKD THE FIRST ASCEN'T
OF COTOCACHI.

Upon" the 21st of April we left Cayambe, and crossed the depres-
sion between Mojanda and Imbabnra to the village of Otovalo ; ^
having two objects in view — an ascent of Cotocachi, and collection
of Antiquities in the district which has been in the past, and is
still, the most densely populated in Ecuador.

I went to that country possessed with the notion that there
must have been an Equatorial '^ Stone Age/'^ though without
positive information that stone implements could be found ; or
knowing whether during Incarial times weapons and implements
of stone were in common use. Having nothing to shew, for a

1 There was a fair track all the way, and from the Lake of St. Pablo to Otovalo
there was a respectable road.

CHAP. XIV.

A SEARCH FOR ANTIQUITIES.

257

long time there were no results. If one talked of the Incas the
]iatives enquired with surprise "' Who were they ? ^' and they
seemed equally unacquainted with the works of their (probably)
much more remote ancestors. So we fell back upon asking for
old things, and then came shabby umbrella tops, battered scissors,
and broken pottery — objects which were rejected because they
were not nearly old enough. At length we seemed to have struck
oil. One night, when at supper, the door was stealthily opened ;
and a rough head peeped round, peering out of a dilapidated
poncho that concealed a bulky object. "You have something to
shew ?" " Yes, Senor.'^ '' Is it old ? " '' That it is'' ; and, tossing
aside his ragged garment, he displayed his treasure, saying,
triumphantly, " this is very old, Sefior ! ''

At Machachi, by per-
sistent enquiries, Perring
at last discovered a bat-
tered stone axe, and thus
getting a start, through
having something to shcAv,
we picked up others as
we progressed northwards ;
though south of Quito an-
tiquities of any kind were
rare, and in the Capital
it was scarcely more use
to look for them than to
search for Chelsea ware
in Chelsea, or for Caxtons

in Westminster. Still a few things were obtained, even there, —
amongst others, the lance-point given on the next page,^ which
was found in an old wall that was being pulled down. Every one
said, " Try Imbabura. Go to Ibarra, and to Carranqui the birth-
place of Atahualpa.''

1 This was one of the two chipped objects which were obtained. The whole
of the rest were polished.

'THIS IS VERY OLD, SENOR ! '

258 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

So we went to Imbabura/ gradually acquiring things in stone
as we rode along - — accosting every person and enquiring at all the
houses — sometimes spying them hanging as ornaments or charms
around the necks of Indian women,^ or used as weights by weavers

on their looms, or as toys
by children. Verity was a
tolerably efficient assistant,
and I found a more acute
one presently at Otovalo in
the person of the Yankee
Jew who had anathema-
tized the salt fish on Good
Friday ; and succeeded in
enlisting the sympathies of
several other persons who
were not insensible to the
value of the Almighty
Dollar.

Time was becoming
precious, for this north-
ern journey had occupied
longer than was intended ;
and it was larranged that
Cotocachi should be dis-
posed of first, and that I
should pursue my quest
for antiquities with Verity and Cevallos, whilst the Carrels
returned southwards to make another attempt to ascend Illiniza.
At Otovalo we were informed that our mountain was unapproach-

1 Imbabura is bounded on the north b}' Colombia, and on the west, east, and
south by tlie Provinces of Esmeraldas, Oriente, and Pichincha. It is divided into
four cantons, Tulcan, Ibarra, Cotocachi and Otovalo, which are subdivided into
twenty-nine parishes. Ibarra is the chief town. The mountain called Imbabura
occupies a large part of the Province.

2 See the illustration on page 237.

CHAP. XIV. THE ASCENT OF COTOCACHl. 259

able from that direction, on account of earthquake fissures, and
were advised to proceed to the village of Cotocachi, and seek the
good oflfices of the Priest. On the 22nd of April we went there,
and found him high up on a scaffolding, acting as master-builder
for a new church, surrounded by scores of his parishioners, busy as
bees. A good man was this Priest. He lodged and fed us, wrote
a letter of recommendation to the owner of the highest property
on the mountain, and got us off at 6.35 a.m. next morning,
provided with a guide for the first part of the way.

From studying Cotocachi at a distance, it had been settled to
make an ascent from the south or south-west. When sweeping
the horizon on the top of the Pointe Jarrin, I found that it was
much the most elevated and the only snow-clad mountain in the
north of Ecuador, and had determined that the more southern of
its two peaks was the loftier. The Chief of the Staff, on the
contrary, maintained that the northern was the higher point. I
overruled him, for on the cross-wire of the theodolite, when we
were nearly on a level with the top of Cotocachi, there was a
marked, though small, difference between the two peaks in favour
of the southern one.

Our guide led westwards, through lanes whose banks and
hedges were laden with ferns ^ (all different from those which had
been met with before), and adhered to this course for about six
miles, skirting the base of the mountain and apparently taking us
away from the goal ; moving parallel to an impassable quebrada,
generally about seventy feet wide (which had been formed in
1868), until he came to a place where the walls had fallen in and
choked the cleft. We crossed this natural bridge, and then steered
north-north-west to Iltaqui (10,049 feet) — a very diminutive
hacienda and the highest house upon the mountain — which was in
charge of one old Indian.

1 Asplenium trichomaties, L. (abundant) ; Cheilanthes myriojjhyUa, Desv.
(abundant); Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh.; Notliolcena sinuata^ Kaulf.; Woodsia
mollis, J, Smith ; and others.

260 TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

When looking back from this place it was seen that there was
good reason for bringing us by a circuitous route. The lower
slopes of our mountain^ and the comparatively fiat ground at its
base, were rent and riven in a most extreme manner. In no other
part of Ecuador is there anything equalling this extraordinary
assemblage of fissures, intersecting one another irregularly and
forming a perfect maze of impassable clefts. The general appear-
ance of the country between the villages of Cotocachi and Otovalo
is not very unlike that of a biscuit which has been smashed by a
blow of the fist. The cracks are all V shaped, and though seldom
of great breadth are often very profound, and by general consent
they are all earthquake qiiehradas. Several, at least, have been
formed within the memory of man, while others are believed to be
centuries old. It was not to be expected that any one would be
found who had actually witnessed their formation,^ or possessing
certain knowledge of the immediate cause of their production.
Some persons would probably have said with Shakespeare that

''Oft the teeming earth
Is with a kind of colic pinch'd and vex'd
By the imprisoning of unruly wind
Within her womb ; which, for enlargement striving,
Shakes the old beldame Earth, and topples down
Steeples and moss-grown towers."

If, however, they had been caused by upheaval, there could
scarcely have failed to have been some irregularities in the
surface ; and I imagine that they arise from a succession of settle-
ments in this particular area. Whether they have been caused by
upheavals or subsidences, it is clear that at the time they were
produced the surface of the earth was in a state of tension.

After leaving Iltaqui, we were guided by the Indian up a small
valley leading towards what may be termed the southern ridge of

* The quebrada we skirted was one of the largest, and was not less than six
miles in length. It opened in the night. I am unable to give a view of this very
remarkable scene. The photographic plates that were exposed at Iltaqui were
smashed in the accident which occurred on the way back to Quito.

CHAP. XIV. IN A TOURMENTE. 261

Ootocachi, and when this was struck turned sharply to the right,
towards the summit. Cracks and fissures in the crest of this ridge
again suggested that settlements were occurring. Our guide led
well, and got us soon after mid-day up to the foot of the final peak,
and more than 14,000 feet above the level of the sea. The ground
then became too rugged for the mules, and we halted to consider.

From this direction, Cotocachi appears pyramidal rather than
conical ; and has a face on the east (fronting the basin of Imba-
bura) that is precipitous ; and another less abrupt one on the
west, largely covered with snow. This was to be our way ; and
catching sight of a small bit of flat ground a little higher, in the
right direction, all hands set to work carrying baggage to it. The
second trip upwards was being made when a transformation scene
occurred. A clear sky became overclouded, the mountain was lost
in mist ; and, after the usual succession of rain, hail and sleet, a
furious fall of snow took place, which rendered the air so thick
that, although only a few yards apart, we could not see each
other. The whole of the natives dropped their loads and fled,
while Verity and the Carrels stuck to their work, and laboured to
place the tent amid driving showers of snow, circling in a veri-
table tourmente. The gusts filled the tent and defied their efforts
to install it. The wind tossed us about like playthings — neither
the long arms of Louis nor the strong ones of Verity and Jean-
Antoine availed anything. The whirling snow mocked our efforts,
and for the only occasion on this journey we found it impossible
to erect our habitation properly.

The tents taken to Ecuador, in general style, resembled that
which is described in ScramUes amongst the Alps. The four poles,
however, were divided.^ Their upper halves were fixtures, and
when the lower ones were withdrawn the tents could be folded,

1 At the points where the poles crossed each other a little of the canvas was
cut away, leaving a hole at each corner of the roof for ventilation (see illustration
upon page 60). During snowy and rainy weather, it was frequently necessary to
close these apertures, and this was done by covering them with the waterproof
casings to our hats (see illustration upon page 144).

262 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xi\r.

and made into packages of convenient size for mule-travelling.
The wood was varnished to hinder it absorbing moisture ; but on
this northern journey some of my people thought to do a clever
thing and scraped the poles to make them run in more easily^ and
thus made matters worse instead of better. The wood swelled,
and did not slide in as freely as before ; and in the hurry of the
occasion some of the canvas became puckered, and prevented one
of the lower halves from entering its socket. We struggled in
vain to rectify it ; and, when the tent was at last pitched, one or
another had, for the next fourteen hours, to support the faulty
corner to save the structure from collapsing.

In the morning six inches of new snow was lying around, and
the mountain was loaded with it. Shall we proceed ? If this had
been dry, powdery snow I should have declined. There is no
objection, beyond the labour involved, to traversing new-fallen
snow upon mountain-slopes provided it will cohere, and adhere.
Particles of granular snow coalesce slowly ; and in cold weather,
particularly, several days may elapse before they will hind.
Happily, we never saw snow of this description in Ecuador,
although it is common in most high regions. Ovr snow was
generally ivet. It may have been the product of intense cold ;
but, falling through atmosphere with temperatures considerably
above the freezing-point, it arrived upon the ground in a thawing
condition, and had not the tendency to slip upon slopes, which
is a characteristic of the granular state. ^

We therefore proceeded, after a preliminary inspection, and at
11.35 a.m., on the 24th of April, stood on the very highest j^oint
of Cotocachi. One hundred and ninety minutes were occupied in
going from the camp (14,490 feet) to the summit (16,301 feet),
and we consequently ascended 571 feet per hour, a rate much
inferior to that attained on Antisana and Cayambe, which is to
be attributed to the caution employed to avoid disturbance of

1 During the whole time we were amongst the Great Andes of the Equator we
neither saw a snow-avalanche nor the track of one.

CHAP. XIV.

ON THE SUM31IT OF COTOCACIIL

263

the snow, and to the greater steepness of the ground.^ I noticed
that 657 steps were made without stopping, when between
15,000-16,000 feet high ; and this compares favourably with the
experiences of many practised mountaineers at a similar elevation
(pressure) upon Mont Blanc. Though it must be admitted that
the steps were short ones
(as we were quite unable
to do anything approach-
ing this during the earlier
part of the journey), there
is reason to believe that
we had, in the course
of the last four months,
become somewhat habit-
uated to low pressures.

The true summit of
Cotocachi is a pointed
peak of lava,'^ broken up
by frost, extremely steep
at the finish, and upon

that account bearing little snow. I estimate it to be 150 to 180
feet higher than the northern, or second summit. This mountain

COTOCACHI, FROM CARRANQUI

^ Left camp at 8.25 a.m., and went to the top without a halt. On the 24th of
April, at 12 (noon), the Mercurial Barometer (reduced to 32° Faht.) read 16-661
inches, air temperature 36°-5 Faht. The 11 a.m. observation at Guayaquil (red. to
32°) was 29-869 inches, air temp. 81° Faht.

2 "Purplish-grey rock, containing small whitish felspar crystals, with a good
many minute vesicles. . . The ground mass appears to consist of a glassy base,
containing minute crystallites, probably for the most part felspar, but perhaps also
a pyroxenic mineral, with rods of opacite and with ferrite staining. In this occur
crystals of plagioclastic felspar, not generally exceeding 0-3 inch, agreeing in general
character with those already described, but perhaps more frequently containing
enclosures, and 'dirty looking,' together with a pyroxenic mineral. The crystals
of this are not very characteristic, but I think both augite and hypersthene can be
identified. . . These rocks from Cotocachi appear to be hyperstheniferous augite-
andesite."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Proc. Royal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884.

264 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

is probably the eleventh in rank of the Great Andes of the Equator.
Tradition says that it was in eruption some centuries ago, and it
is not unlikely that a crater lies buried beneath the glacier which
at present occupies the depression between its two peaks/

On the 25th of April we returned to Cotocachi. The lanes
were thronged by troops of Indians, hurrying forward with
unwonted alacrity to the village, where the streets and exits from
the Plaza were barricaded, to prevent the escape of tormented
cattle. Their eagerness was explained. What sweeter pastime
is there than baiting a bull ? When can it be more fitly practised
than upon a Sunday afternoon ?

The elite of Cotocachi were engaged at the Priest's house in
perusing an account of the Ascent of Antisana, which had just
been published by General Veintemilla in the Official Gazette.
His Eeverence insisted that it must be read in public, and told
a satellite to inform the people that he had a communication to
make to them. The news spread as if by magic. The populace
followed us literally e7i ?nasse, streamed into the building where
the lecture was to be given until it was jammed tight with stand-
ing people, clambered on to the window-sills, and stood outside
in thousands, craning their necks forward to catch the words of
their Pastor ; who from a slightly elevated desk, after a little
introduction, read the whole of a very matter-of-fact relation, to

^ There, was abundance of the lichen Stereocaulon iurgescens, Nyl., and of the
moss Grimmia ovata, Web. & Mohr, amongst the summit rocks. Examples of these
two genera were frequently seen closely against or surrounded by snow (15-16,600
feet), and it was not unusual to find them in such a position. Five species of Orimmia
were found at 16,000 feet and upwards, elsewhere. Upon the very highest point
of all there were two Grasses {Triseium Andinum, Benth., and a Deyeuxia which
is not yet determined), only one root of each, growing strongly ; two thousand feet
above the upper limit of their ordinary range, in the most exposed position that
could be selected, where during the greater part of the year temperature must be
much below the freezing-point and the soil be hard frozen ;— yet growing strongly,
evidently flourishing, and approaching maturity — the most remarkable instance of
this kind that has ever come under my notice.

CHAP. XIV. THE PROVINCE OF IMBABURA. 265

which they listened in the most perfect silence^ and with a rapt
attention that shewed their respect for their spiritual leader and
gave evidence of thirst for information/

When this was over we returned to Otovalo, and on the next
day the Carrels went oif to Quito, accompanied by David and the
jovial arriero, leaving me with Verity and Cevallos. I was in very
indifferent health, and received here, at a time when they were
valuable, some attentions from the Yankee-Jew who had made
himself conspicuous on Good Friday, by his wrath at the tahle
iVliote. The language of this hybrid Hebrew was often most un-
parliamentary ; but he was a good-natured man, a trader before
everything (he would either buy your hair or sell you a watch),
and I endeavoured to requite his kindness when we met again at
the Capital. Inducing him and an intelligent cobbler to work
this locality in my absence, on the 28th of April I rode across
Imbabura to Ibarra, passing through the villages of Hutantaqui
and San Antonio.

A large part of the Province is occupied by the mountains
Mojanda, Cotocachi, and Imbabura. The slopes of the latter
extend from Carranqui almost to the Lake of San Pablo, and
on the west commence to rise at the village of Human. The
fertile and cultivated portion of the Province lies principally in
the basin that is enclosed by the three mountains. The bottom
of this is not so high as those which have been already mentioned,
and it enjoys a happy mean between the chillness of the more
elevated lands, and the sultry climate of the lower ground. , To
this higher temperature, more than to any difference in the soil,
the fertility of Imbabura is to be ascribed ; and the comparative

1 Compulsory education was established bj' Garcia Moreno in Ecuador before
it was introduced into Great Britain, and in 1880, in the interior, it was exceptional
to find a person who could not read. They had little chance, however, of obtaining-
anything to read. There was no book-shop in Quito, nor, I believe, in the whole
country. The people with whom we mixed (either Indians or half-whites) were
always eager to have anything read to them. In this total absence of literature,
and thirst for information, there was a great opportunity for a man of enterprize.

2 M

266 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

density of its population is a consequence of its fertility. Between
the places which have been enumerated, the whole country is
dotted with detached residences — Indian villas so to speak — each
provided with its little plot of ground, where all and more than
is necessary can be raised.' The daily wage of the people is said
to be only a medio (two-pence), yet it appeared to be sufficient for
their wants. They looked sleek and well-fed, and were rich
enough to indulge in drunkenness.^

Notwithstanding this drawback, it is pleasant to ride across
Imbabura. Foliage gives shadow, and the roads are well-beaten
tracks, reasonably dry. Eound about Hutantaqui and San Antonio
in particular, there are a great number of artificial mounds, from
twenty or thirty to two hundred or more feet in diameter (in form
resembling the pmiecillos of the Volcanoes), which are universally
considered to be tumuli. According to Father Velasco,^ more
than twelve thousand of these were erected after the defeat, on
the Plain of Hutantaqui, of the tribes of Cayambe, Carranqui and
Otovalo by the Inca monarch, Huayna-Capac. Though they are
very numerous, it cannot be supposed for a moment that there are
or ever have been 12,000 of these mounds in this locality. There
are others in the neighbourhood of Carranqui which are said to
have been investigated at various times by joint-stock companies,
with disappointing results. They desired gold and silver, and
found little except bones and pottery.

The villages which have just been mentioned, as well as the

1 The following things were being grown in this small district — Maize, Wheat,
Barle}^, Sugar-cane, Cotton ; Peas, Lentils, French-beans, Potatoes, Yuca, Parsnips,
Lettuce, Cabbages, and other ordinary vegetables ; Bananas, Cherries, Strawberries,
Chirimoya, Lemons, Oranges, and Grapes.

2 Until our arrival in Imbabura, we had not seen half-a-dozen intoxicated
persons in Ecuador ; but when returning upon the 25th of April, in the little
distance between Cotocachi and Otovalo, we passed three men who were dead drunk,
a score of others badly inebriated, and many— including women — in a more or less
advanced condition.

3 Histoire dn Royaume de Quito, par Don Juan de Velasco (translated by H.
Ternaux-Compans), 8vo, Paris, 1840 ; vol. i, p. 53.

CHAP. XIV. THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1868. 267

larger ones of the Province, were still in a very ruinous condition
from the effects of the earthquake of August 16, 1868. This
occurred at 1 a.m., and is generally believed to have originated in
the space between Otovalo and Cotocachi (village), and to have
been an affair of a few seconds. The havoc was confined to the
basin of Imbabura. A shock appears to have travelled north-
wards, and to have rebounded upon Ibarra from the mountains of
Colombia ; ^ for the destruction at this place was more complete
than in the towns closer to the great quebrada which opened in
the night. I Avas told that not more than two dozen houses w^ere
left standing, and that lists were in existence shewing that 20,000
persons perished at Ibarra alone. ^ I imagine that the disturbance
of the earth which caused the shock (or shocks) occurred at no
great distance beneath the surface. If the focus of disturbance
had been deep-seated, the area influenced would have been larger.

At Ibarra, I brought letters of introduction to Senor Teodoro
Gomez de la Torre, the greatest landowner in the north of
Ecuador, — a gentleman who was spoken of everywhere with
respect. Amongst other things standing to his credit was that,
when nominated for the Presidency upon the assassination of
Garcia Moreno, he retired in favour of Borrero, rather than divide
his party. ^^My house," he was accustomed to say, "is the

1 The mountains of Colombia shut in the Province of Imbabura like a wall.
Though their general elevation is very considerable, in the month of April they
were without snow.

2 If these lists were examined it would I expect be found that this number is
a gross exaggeration. I think Ibarra never contained 20,000 persons. The place,
however, was very badly wrecked. At the time of our visit, six churches, a con-
vent, schools, and the hospital were in ruins.

In the earthquake of 1868 the Indians suffered less than the rest of the popula-
tion, principally in consequence of the greater fragility and elasticity of their
dwellings. Some may have been swallowed up by the opening of chasms, for in
this rather thickly populated district a fissure several miles long could scarcely open
anywhere without this happening.

In a Report from Mr. Alfred St. John to the Foreign Office, dated Quito, July 14,
1891, the entire population of the Province of Imbabura is said to be 67,940, and
that of the town of Ibarra to be 6000 (see note to page 1).

268 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

only hotel at Ibarra/' and he well sustained his reputation for
hospitality.

On the 29th of April we went over to Carranqui^ a village
of 700 or 800 persons^ about a mile and a quarter south of Ibarra,
and a little above it ; at this place proceeding as before, question-
ing every individual we met, exhibiting the things which had been
already acquired, and enlisting Priest and Jefo-politico in the
search, and speedily found that much was obtainable ; but my
increasing weakness, and inability to procure proper remedies,
warned me that it was time to return, and after a second visit to
Carranqui we went back to Otovalo, in possession of a collection
that proved the existence of great numbers of implements in stone
in Equatorial America, and raised a strong presumption that there
was, at some remote period, a Stone Age. I give here all the
remarks that will be offered upon this subject, although not a few
of the examples to which reference will be made were procured
at a later date.

I place first a class of objects to which, so far as I am aware,
special attention has not hitherto been drawn by any traveller.
Those included in the group figured upon page 269 all belong
to a type which is numerous in Ecuador, and they should not
perhaps be classed either as Ornaments, Weapons, or Implements.
I call them Stars in Stone. They were found everywhere between
Ibarra and Riobamba, and became embarrassing by their very
quantity. The majority have six rays (and none have more),
proceeding symmetrically from the centre, and the whole are
fashioned alike upon each side. A certain number have only five
rays, and occasional examples are irregular in shape (see the top
figure, on the right). All are pierced by a hole, which has been
drilled from the two sides, and the size of this varies considerably.
In dimensions they range from three to five inches in diameter,
and from three-quarters of an inch to two inches in thickness.
Their weight is from five to twenty ounces. The larger part are

CHAP. XIV. STARS IN STONE. 269

made from basaltic rock and gabbro. Objects of this class were
also cast in metal, but these are now rarely met with in Ecuador/

Whilst they possess the general points of similarity that have
been mentioned, scarcely any two are identical in form. Some are
fiat and thin, others are thick, or rise in the centre upon each

STARS IN STONE.

side into a shape like the hub of a wheel. The number of these
objects that I collected was as much a matter of surprise to
Ecuadorians as it was to myself. Though many persons were

1 It is not unlikely that many examples in metal have perished in the melting-
pot (like the axes and other implements and weapons), through the Ecuadorian
mania for gold.

270 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

aware of the existence of these Stars in Stone, no one seemed to
possess the least idea that they were so numerous, and so widely
distributed.

In examining books upon the contiguous countries, I find
several references to stars in stone and in metal. Yet no traveller
appears to have been struck by their frequency. In the Report
of The U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemi-
sphere during the years 1849-52/ in vol. ii, p. 138, figures are
given of two stars in bronze (found at Cuzco, Peru), one having
a sixth ray prolonged into a hatchet, which suggests that it must
have been a war-club, or battle-axe. In Squier's book on Peru ^
(p. 177), there is a figure of a six-rayed object in bronze, said to
have been one of several, which are designated by the Author
(apparently following some earlier writer) casse-tetes, and he says
that among the fractured skulls that were found "the larger part
seemed to have been broken by blows from some such weapons."
M-ons. Wiener, in his book on Peru and Bolivia,^ gives a figure of
a star which was found at Ancon (near Lima), shewing a stick
inserted in the central hole ; and another figure of a somewhat
similar form in bronze, also handled. Like Squier, he calls them
casse-tetes."^ Finally, the Doctors Reiss and Stiibel remark, in
their magnificent work upon the Peruvian Antiquities obtai^ied
at Ancon, ^ that "the few stone objects found here shew but slight

1 By Lieut. J. M. Gilliss ; 4to, Philadelphia, 1856.

2 Pertly Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Iiicas, by E. George
Squier, M.A., F.S.A., late U.S. Commissioner to Peru; 8vo, New York, 1877.
Squier says at the same page "if weapons of stone were ever found here, I failed
to learn the fact." In this passage, he is speaking of Northern Peru, close to the
frontiers of Ecuador.

3 Peroa et BoUvle, Paris, 1880, p. 685. M. Wiener was sent in 1875-7 to Peru
and Bolivia to collect antiquities, and he obtained a large number of objects. It is
noticeable that in the hundreds of engravings in his book only about half-a-dozen
things in stone are figured.

4 This expression, freely translated, means '■nut-crackers.''

5 The Necropolis of Ancon in Peru, by W, Reiss & A. Stiibel ; London &, Berlin ,
3 vols., folio, 1880-1887.

SOME TYPICAL STONE IMPLEMENTS COLLECTED BY THE AUTHOR IN ECUADOR.

CHAP. XIV. WEAPONS OR SYMBOLS? 271

traces of workmanship, an exception being ... a stone weapon
of the ' Morning Star ' type. . . The six-rayed stone star, here
found once only, is elsewhere in Peruvian graves by no means
rare.^^

Though all these writers appear to regard these objects as a
kind of battle-axe (and are probably correct so far as those having
a ray prolonged into a hatchet are concerned), there are several
considerations which make me hesitate to adopt the opinion that
the Stars in Stone wei'e habitually used as weapons. The Indians
of this region were a quiet, inoifensive, unwarlike people. This is
their nature still. Yet these objects were more numerous than
any other kinds which were obtained, and are found everywhere.
We should therefore be led to conclude that a great part of the
population was provided with offensive weapons. The larger of
the Stars (which are as heavy as a pound and a quarter) no doubt
might be used effectively ; but the smaller ones, weighing only a
few ounces, would not be very formidable ; and taking them as
a whole they are less adapted either for offensive or defensive
purposes than most of the implements which will presently be
enumerated. To this may be added that many are uninjured, and
do not seem to have been put to any use whatever. Francisco
Campana (a half -Indian who joined us during the latter part of
the journey) had assisted in the examination of graves in Peru,
and said these Stars in Stone were found there placed upon the
breasts of corpses ; and it seems to me more likely that they were
to the Children of the Sun symbols of the luminary that they
worshipped, than that they were employed by the natives for
breaking each other's heads.

Out of the remainder of the objects in stone that were
collected, a large number should undoubtedly be classed as
Implements. Not a few others are Ornaments, and there is a
residuum which may have been either ornamental or useful.

Upon the accompanying plate five different types of Imple-
ments are represented. In the series A— E, the whole of the edges

272 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

are rounded, except the bottom ones. In the next line (F— j) all
are of a chisel type. The tops and sides of these are sometimes
flat or angular, and sometimes rounded ; and the lower, or cut-
ting edges, are sharp. The examples in the next series (K— O)
bear some resemblance to a bill-hook ; the top edges are flat ; and
they are all pierced with holes drilled from the two sides. The
specimens in the next row have similar holes — otherwise they
approximate to the chisel type ; while the type represented in
the series U— Y differs from all the others in having projecting
shoulders, and (occasionally) in having a groove along the length
of the top edge, apparently to facilitate handling.

All these five types were found in numbers, in many localities,
and have evidently been amongst the most common and generally
used implements during the Equatorial Stone Age. In minor
respects they exhibit considerable variety, and there are large
differences in their size, thickness, and weight. The type P— T was
the most numerous, and I brought home more than fifty examples.
The greater part have holes drilled from each side,^ though in
some the aperture is as broad internally as externally, that is
to say, it passes straight through. The positions of the holes
vary, — some being central, though most of them are nearest
to the top. The lower edge is always the sharpest ; and, while
many would not have cut butter, there are a few sharp enough
to cut wood. Their weight ranges from 3 J to 29 ozs., and like
the Stars in Stone they have been fashioned from a diversity
of rocks.

Besides many examples of these five types, a large number of
undoubted Implements in stone were obtained, from which selec-
tions are given upon page 273. Those marked E, J, K, L, N— T are
unique, and the other forms are more or less rare. The central
one, marked M, was the only object for which the natives could
assign a use, and it was pronounced to be a corn-pounder. This

1 These are not strictly speaking * countersunk ' holes. Thej^ are less in diameter
in the middle of the implements than they are on their surfaces.

CHAP. XIV. SOME UNUSUAL F0R3IS. 273

one weighs five and a quarter pounds, and I have another of eleven
pounds. The form i, of which I have several examples^, is con-

sidered by Mr. Thomas Ewbank ^ to be a " hollowing-hammer for
metal/' and it is possible that those marked A, B and C (and their

1 At p. 137 of the Report by Lieut. Gilliss, already quoted, Mr. Ewbank
says, — "The groove worked round the middle was the universal device by which

274

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

Tiumerous varieties) were used for the same j^urpose. The objects
D, F, G and H are more puzzling. The two latter somewhat re-
semble the two others represented upon this page, but differ from
them in not having the circular cavities in the
sides. The objects of this class are highly wrought,
and fashioned out of hard stone. It seems not
unlikely that they vv^ere used for sharpening tools,
and that the examples G, H are new (that i^, un-
used) specimens, belonging to the same class as
those given upon this page. They have also been
found by M. Wiener in Peru.

The smaller things that I obtained in stone
are made from a greater variety of materials than
the larger ones. Basaltic rock is used for about
one third, and there are besides implements or
objects in Glass, Jet, Jasper, Malachite, Saussurite,
Serpentine, Porphyry, and Granite. While the
larger implements and objects may w^eigh several
pounds apiece, amongst these smaller matters there are many
lighter than the eighth of an ounce, and I have two — a delicately
carved cup with a handle, and a squatting figure — the united
weight of which is less than twenty-four grains !

Amongst the distinctly ornamental objects in stone there are
imitations of Maize-heads. These were particularly mentioned in
Juan & Ulloa's work, nearly a century and a half ago, and seem

handles were secured to primeval stone axes, hammers, and chisels, namely, by
bending a hazel or other pliable rod twice round the indentation, and then twisting
or lashing the two ends together, to serve as a handle. Blacksmiths to this day
everywhere thus handle their punches and chisels. They have discovered no mode
superior to one which was in vogue before edge-tools of metal were known." The
specimen to which he referred came from Cuzco, Peru.

M. Wiener, at p. 685 of his book, calls one of these a 'sling-stone,' — upon what
ground is not clear. A few years ago implements of stone of this description were
used by Indians on the coast of the North Pacific, handled in the manner described
by Mr. Ewbank, and I suppose they are still used by them.

CHAP. XIV.

HOUSEHOLD GODS.

275

to have been better known at that time than they are at present.
The Spanish writers say^ : —

" The maize has ever been the delight of the Indians ; for, besides being
their food, their favourite liquor chicha was made of it ; the Indian artists
therefore used to shew their skill in making ears of it in a kind of very
hard stone ; and so perfect was the resemblance that they could hardly be
distinguished by the eye from nature ; especially as the colour was imitated
to the greatest perfection ; some represented the yellow maize, some the
white. . . The most surprizing circumstance of the whole is, the manner of

■mrn'm-

MAIZE-HEADS IN STONE.

their working, which, when we consider their want of instruments and the
wretched form of those they had, appears an inexplicable mystery : for either
they worked with copper tools, a metal little able to resist the hardness
of stones ; or, to give the nice polish conspicuous on their works, other
stones must have been used as tools."

Squier gives in his book on Peru (at p. 91) a bad representation
of one of these stone maize - heads^ and says that they were
specially mentioned ^^ by Padre Arriaga in his rare book on the
Extir2:>ation of Idolatry in Peru under the name zaramama," and
were household gods of the ancient inhabitants. The examples
engraved above came from Carranqui.

1 Relacion Historica del viaje a la Americana meridional, 4to, Madrid, 1748,
§§ 1047, 1048. The quotation is made from the fifth English edition, 8vo, London,
1807.

276

TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiy.

A number of other objects in stone in my collection are dis-
tinctly Ornaments, and in several instances were
found still being worn by Indian women, who
parted with them unwillingly. With others,
in many instances, it is difficult to distinguish
whether they were ornamental or useful. This
is the case with the imitations of heads of
animals which seemed to have been in favour
in the basin of Kiobamba, and with anvil-shaped
objects which were very numerous throughout
Imbabura.

That the principal part of these objects
and implements in stone are of considerable
or of great age is apparent from the fact that

Garcilasso de la Vega scarcely mentions them. He says that

the Indians

**knew not the invention of putting a handle of Wood to their Hammers,
but worked with certain Instruments they had made of Copper, mixed
with a sort of fine Brass. Neither did they know how to make Files or
Graving-tools, or Bellows for Melting down Metals. . . But above all, their
Carpenters seemed to be worst provided with Tools ; for though ours use
many Instruments made of Iron, those of Peru had no other than a Hatchet,
and a Pick-axe made of Copper ; they neither had Saw, nor Augre, nor
Planer, nor any other Tool for the Carpenter's work, so that they could not
make Arches or Portals for doors ; onely they hewed and cut their Timber,
and whitened it, and then it Was prepared for their Building : And for
making their Hatchets and Pick-axes, and some few Rakes, they made use
of the Silversmiths, for as yet they had not attained to the Art of "Working
in Iron. Nor did they know how to make Nails, or use them, but tied all
their Timber with Cords of Hemp. Nor were their Hewers of Stone more
artificial, for in cutting and shaping their Stones, they had no other Tool,
than one made with some sharp Flints and Pebbles, with which they
rather wore out the Stone by continual rubbing, than cutting," — The Royal
Commentaries of Peru, pp. 53-3.

From this passage it appears that at the time of the Pizarros
the Indians used tools of metal for most purposes. The con-

CHAP. XIV.

PERUVIAN POTTERY.

277

eluding sentence evidently refers solely to fashioning stones for
building. In the older writers in general I find nothing indicating
that they had cognizance of a Stone Age ; and modern travellers
(so far as one can judge from casual references in their books) do
not seem to have given serious attention to this matter. Such
discoveries as may be made in the future, I anticipate, will confirm
the opinion that the most part of these objects and implements
in stone were already Antiquities at the time of the Spanish
Conquest ; and belong to an age long anterior to the times when
the Inca Tupac conquered the ^Kingdom of Quitu/ and Huayna-
Capac ravaged Imbabura.

In the course of enquiries for stone implements, many other
things were brought, principally pieces of pottery. Metallic
objects were rarely offered, and seldom seen. I heard of but a
single little image in gold, and this could not
be had. Silver articles were nearly as scarce.
Even bronze and copper antiquities, when found,
are often melted down, .from the supposition
that they are alloyed with gold. The annexed
figure of the head of a silver pin is an example
of a class which was formerly common and is
now rare. The six-rayed star at the bottom of
this page, and the two hatchets upon page 278 (which were part of
a large ' find ' at Ouenca) are nearly all that I obtained in bronze.

The popular idea of Peruvian (Ecuadorian)
pottery is derived from the grotesque black
ware that is found in most museums. Squier
says of this that the greater part has been
brought from the coast districts of northern
Peru.^ I saw little of it in Ecuador, and

1 "It is safe to say that three-fourths of the pottery found in the museums of
Europe and America, and called Peruvian, came from the coast or near it, and of
this probably much the largest portion from the region ruled by the princes of
Chimu" (near Truxillo).— ^erw, pp. 177-8

278

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

such examples as I collected (of black pottery) very likely came

into the country from the south,
was formerly used^ by the Indians
dwelling amongst the Great Andes
of the Equator has a character of
its own, and is distinguished by
simplicity, and often by elegance
of form. It is both glazed and un-
glazed ; of various hues of Indian
Eed, and different degrees of fint
ness. Some of the older pieces ar
grey in colour. This old Indian
pottery seems to have been ne-
glected by other travellers, and I
endeavoured to form such a col-
lection as should convey an idea of
the articles which were formerly
in general use.

The shapes which seem to
have been employed most exten-
sively are given in the annexed
outline. The bottoms of these ves-
sels are fiat, rounded, or pointed.
The pointed and rounded forms
were convenient for cooking, or
for being warmed over fires

The major part of that which

BRONZE HATCHETS FROM CUENCA.

The Indians even now are little

provided with tables, and in the past were probably totally un-
acquainted with such luxuries. They squatted on the ground, and

1 It is to be understood that all the utensils, &e., to which I am about to refer
are now superseded by common modern pottery.

EXAMPLES OF OLD INDIAN POTTERY COLLECTED BY THE AUTHOR IN ECUADOR.

CHAP. XIV. FORMS OF UTENSILS ORDINARILY EMPLOYED. 279

cooked their food over wood fires ; and these pointed and rounded
bottoms to their utensils, though quite unsuited for placing upon
smooth surfaces, would keep erect in the embers, or might be
pressed into the earthen floor.

The natives did not depend exclusively upon these simple
vessels. In the accompanying plate a number of the more ordi-

SOME OF THE LESS COMMON FORMS.

nary forms are grouped of their pots, bowls, jars, jugs, and bottles.
The larger vessels, in which the more serious culinary operations
would be performed, are provided with feet (see H— K), or even
with legs (see figure at the bottom of the illustration on this page).
Some have a pair of handles low down (B, M, N, O) that would be

280

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

convenient to hold when pouring out liquids ; others have very
diminutive handles high up, by which the vessels were probably
suspended. The ordinary single handle, seen in E and W, is less
often found than the double ones.

ORNAMENTATION OF POTTERY.

Many of these vessels or utensils are without ornament, though
some are embellished by crude representations of the human face
(A, B, F, G, W). Ornamental details, incised, raised, or painted, occa-
sionally occur ; and a few of the more characteristic are brought

together in the engraving above.

CHAP. XIV.

POTTERY WHISTLES.

281

Amongst the less common forms there are treble pots like that
represented on page 279. As the grouped parts are all connected
internally, these can hardly have been family cruet-stands. They
were apparently intended to hold liquids, and it is difficult to see
what advantage can have been derived from this manner of con-
struction. Double and treble pots were numerous in Imbabura ;
though I brought home few, for the reason which will appear
presently.

INDIAN MUSICAL WHISTLES.

Then there are the musical pottery whistles — delightfully ugly
things, which are sometimes more useful to carry than letters of
introduction. Simple airs can be got out of them, and on the
homeward journey my people lightened the way by playing on
these primitive instruments.

The most interesting, artistically, of all the objects in pottery
which were obtained in Ecuador have been called ^ vase-busts ^ by
Mr. Ewbank. In the Eeport on Tlie U.S. Naval Astronomical
Expedition, from which I have already quoted, he gave a bad
representation of an object of this class; saying (in 1856), ^'^it is
supposed there are not over two or three extant. ^^ The four

282

TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

examples which appear on the following pages are no doubt the
work of four different artists ; and, though all are old, they are by
no means of equal age. The idea that any human being could have
his face ornamented with a pointed beard or flowing moustache
did not enter the brain of the Indian modeller until Spanish Dons
invaded his continent. The oldest vases never give hair upon the
lips or chin ; and, if beards or moustaches are introduced, it is a
certain indication that the works have been executed subsequently

THE DON POT.

to the Spanish Conquest. This was evidently the case in the piece
that I term ^ the Don pot.^ All three of the other examples shew
considerable power in portraying character, and very likely are por-
traits of eminent persons. The double-headed jar or vase is the fin-
est specimen I have seen of Indian pottery, and I should have been
happy to have obtained other examples modelled by the same hand.
The pottery which is represented on the previous pages was
obtained in various ways, not a little of it coming from old graves.

CHAP. XIV.

vase-busts:

283

which were continually being disturbed. Senor Gomez de la
Torre, hearing me lament that I was never able to be present at a
find, very kindly offered to send the entire contents of a grave,
and he was as good as his word. The case, however, did not even
reach Guayaquil before my departure for Europe ; and, upon arrival
in London, its contents were found to have suffered severely

from Panama ^ baggage-smashers ' and other disturbing influences.
Some rounded stones (presumably corn - pounders) had danced
about and cannonaded the pottery. After much labour, most of
the contents were ^ restored,^ and they are represented in the
engraving upon page 284.^

1 Dr. W. H. Flower has favoured me with the following note: — "The skull
from Ibarra is evidently of considerable antiquity, as shewn by the dry and brittle

284 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

Somewhat elated by the success of the foray into Imbabura, we
set out from Otovalo on the 2nd of May, to cross Mojanda to

THE CONTENTS OF A GRAVE.

Quito ; intending to make the first day a short one, and to stop
for the night at the little village Malchingi/ The pottery was
carefully packed in straw, subdivided as much as possible ; and, as
there was little other luggage, our attention was almost solely
given to the safety of our treasures.

condition of its bony tissue. How old, it is of course impossible to say, but there
is nothing in its condition to forbid the supposition that it was buried before the
time of the Spanish Conquest. It is, unfortunately, imperfect, the greater part of
the cranial vault of the right side being broken away, probably in exhumation,
as the fractures look recent, and the lower jaw and all the teeth are wanting.
There is, however, enough to shew that it belonged to a man beyond middle age,
and of considerable muscular development. The general ethnic characters are those
frequently' found in aboriginal American crania, though it is rather longer and
narrower (the cephalic index being 76"6), and the orbits are lower and the nose
wider than usual. On comparing it with a series of skulls of ancient Muiscas from
graves in the neighbourhood of Bogota in the Museum of the Royal College of
Surgeons, it is evidently of the same general type. Unlike most of the old skulls
from the locality near which it was found it presents no sign of artificial deformation
during infancy.

1 There is a small inn at Malchingi, but between that place and Otovalo there
is not, I believe, a single house. The nearest habitation farther west is the
Hacienda of Alchipichi, a very large establishment, situated on the south-western
slopes of Mojanda, about 1400 feet above the bottom of the Quebrada of Guallabamba.
The descent to the bridge across the quebrada is exceedingly steep.

286 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv.

bounding down the declivity, had been hopelessly smashed into
thousands of fragments, and we abandoned the wreck of our
fragile treasures on the dreary paramo.

When night fell we were still some hours from Malchingi,
stumbling and floundering among ruts and camellones. The others
implored me to stop, and we dropped down and camped in a
muddy ditch on the open moorland. I have reposed on better
and cleaner couches ; though, after all, a muddy ditch is not the
worst of beds — one soon becomes attached to it. At 'Malchingi
the dilapidated mule was left to recruit, and I pushed on to Quito
— Cevallos following at his leisure ; and arrived at the Capital
at 10 p.m. on the 3rd of May, feeling more dead than alive, and
looking, I was told, ^ fit for the grave. ^

THE MONEY-BOX.

LA CONDAMINE S INSCRIBED STOM

CHAPTER XV.

A VISIT TO THE PYRAMIDS OF QUITO.

A FEW days after our return, Jean-Antoine came in from Machachi,
reporting that he and his cousin had ascended lUiniza from the
north, in witness whereof he presented samples of the highest
rock.^ Louis remained behind, at the tambo of Antonio Racines,

^ " Rough scoriaceous rock. . . In one specimen is an irregular branching tube
or vein, coated with a dull greenish or brownish glass, which I suspect to be a
fulgurite. I have only had a slice cut from the specimen broken from the rock in
situ. It is not in a good condition for examination, but consists, so far as I can
make out, of a ferrite-stained glass, containing crystals of the usual plagioclastic

288 TRAVELS AMONGST THE ORE AT ANDES, chap. xv.

keeping guard over stores, and enjoyed a quiet month alone,
improving much in appearance and condition.

My stomach had gone all wrong, ^ as people say, and repose was
necessary for restoration to health. During the next five weeks
I went little out of doors, except for promenades in the city, and
before we left it I had explored every street, lane, or alley in the
place. Jean-Antoine and I turned out each evening to do a fresh
section, walking warily in the centre of the thoroughfares, one a
little in advance of the other. By ten o'clock nearly every one
had gone to bed, and scarcely a sound would be heard except the
voices of policemen bawling at the junctions of the streets, to
announce their whereabouts.

In the middle of the month, when somewhat revived, I made
an excursion to the Pyramids which should mark the ends of the
long base-line that was measured in 1736 by La Condamine and
his associates. In consequence of discussions which had arisen as
to the figure of the Earth, the French Academy of Sciences, at the
beginning of the last century, determined to send out two expedi-
tions to measure arcs at a great distance apart. One of these went
to the Gulf of Bothnia, and the other, composed of MM. Godin,
Bouguer, and La Condamine, to Equatorial America. They com-
menced their work on a plain to the north-east of Quito, by
measuring a very long base-line, and from its two ends carried a
chain of triangles'" (to the north beyond Ibarra, and to the south
to Ouenca) over more than three degrees of latitude. Towards
the end of their work they measured a base of verification near
Cuenca, and found its length by direct measurement differed from
the calculated length by less than two feet !

The toise that the French Academicians took out as an unit of

felspar, with a ferruginous mica, grains of hematite or magnetite. . . The rock is
an andesite, but perhaps it is safest only to prefix the epithet micaceous."— Prof.
T. G. Bonney, Proc. Royal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884.

1 This was started by exposure on March 31,

2 A plan of these triangles is given iu PI. II. of La Condamine's work, Mesure
des trois premiers degres du Meridien, 4to, Paris, 1751, and also by Juan and Ulloa.

CHAP. XV.

THE PYRAMIDS OF QUITO.

289

measure was a bar of iron, and it has ever since been known as
^tlie toise of Peru/ Guyot, in his valuable work Tables Meteoro-
logical and Physical, in a discussion of the various measures of
length most generally used, says that ''it may almost be called
the only common standard, to which all the others are referred for
comparison''; ''the legal metre is a legalised part of the toise of
Peru, and this last remains the primitive standard/'

PLAN, SECTION, AND ELEVATION OF THE PYRAMIDS
ERECTED BY THE ACADEMICIANS.

rFrom Histoire des Pyramides de Quito.)

As the measurement of the first base-line (upon which all the
rest of the work depended) was intended to be, and apparently
was, conducted with the greatest possible care, it was natural that
the Academicians desired that its length should be preserved, and
that the two ends should be marked by monuments of a permanent
nature. This matter had, in fact, been discussed and settled before
the observers left Paris, and upon the spot La Oondamine specially

290 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xv.

charged himself with directing the erection of two pyramids, one
at each end of the base.

In the section of the work ^ on his labours in Ecuador entitled
Histoire des Pyramides de Quito, he recounts the difficulties that
he experienced in this matter ; how he fixed the centres of the
pyramids most accurately over the two ends of the measurement ;
how he had to make his own bricks (which he took care should be
of a size different from those usually employed, so that there might
be no temptation to pull the monuments to pieces for the sake of
their materials) ; how he had to construct a canal two leagues long
to bring water for making mortar ; and how stones had to be
sought for and transported long distances on mule-back — this part
of the business alone, he says, occupying several months, as a
single stone often made a load. Then, in the case of the pyramid
at the northern end, he found there was no solid foundation, and
he had to create one by pile-driving, to search for wood fit for the
piles, to bring workmen from Quito to fashion them, and to get
them driven. But tlie thing above all others which gave him most
trouble was finding, dressing, and transporting suitable stones for
the Inscriptions. These stones were quarried in a ravine some
hundreds of feet deep, and had to be hauled out by ropes, which
had to be specially made ; and then at the last moment the ropes
broke, one of the stones was dashed to pieces, and they had to
begin over again.

When at last all was complete, then there was infinite worry
over the Inscriptions ; for the French Academicians had associated
with them two Spanish naval gentlemen, who took exception to
the phraseology, for the sake of their Koyal Master, and on their
own account, &c., &c. At last all was settled and finished, and La
Condamine returned to Paris, via the Amazons, arriving in 1745,
after an absence of ten years, no doubt finding consolation in the
thought that he had done a splendid piece of work, which could be
referred to in generations to come, by means of these monuments.

1 Journal die Voyage fail par ordre du Hoi, &c., 4to, Paris, 1751.

CHAP. XV. DESTRUCTION OF THE PYRAMIDS. 291

Towards the end of 1747 he heard casually that orders had
been given by the Court of Spain to erase the pyramids, and
this order was carried out before he had time to interpose. In
the pages to which I have referred he bemoans their fate, and
recapitulates the details of their construction in a way which will
almost raise a smile with those who do not know the country ;
but so little is this country changed that the account reads like a
narration of operations which have just been conducted, rather
than a relation of things which happened a century and a half ago.
He especially laments the supposed destruction of tlie two great
stones bearing the inscriptions, but concludes in the spirit of a
true man by declaring that all such things are of no importance
in comparison with the loss of the measure of the base, — ^^that
length, which I had taken so much trouble to preserve, is now
lost for ever.^'

La Condamine heard subsequently that orders were given for
the reinstatement of the pyramids, though he probably never
knew whether they were actually re-erected. When I was at Quito
I felt a strong desire to learn what was their state, and to find
out, if possible, whether they occupied the same positions as before.
My friend, Senor Rafael Rebolledo, heard of my enquiries, and told
me that there was on a farm at no great distance from one of his
properties to the north-east of Quito a stone which he believed
was part of the original pyramid of Oyambourou, and he invited
me to go over to examine it. On the 15th of May, 1880, we rode
over to his farm of Olalla, close to the little town of Pifo, and on
the next day went to inspect the stone. It was about four feet
long and six inches thick, placed in the middle of one side of the
courtyard, and was used as a mounting-block. There had been an
inscription upon it, but it was completely worn out in the centre
through the use to which it had been put. At its two ends some
letters could still be made out, and going down on hands and knees
to compare them with the printed description that I carried, which
gives the original inscription line by line, I found that it was the

292

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xv.

very great stone which La Condamine had taken so much trouble
to procure, whose loss he had so pathetically lamented.

The pyramid (of Oyambara or Oyambourou) which now
approximately marks the southern end of the base is about 1000

"^^^^^

THE PYRAMID OF OYAMBARO, IN 1880.

feet distant from the place where
the stone reposes, situated in a
field of maize ; and is neither the

original pyramid nor the one which was erected to replace it.
I was informed on the spot that it was put up about thirty
years earlier by a President of Ecuador, who so little appreciated
the purpose for which it was originally designed that he moved it
some hundreds of feet on one side, in order, he said, that it might
he better seen. The traditional site of the original pyramids of
Oyambourou was pointed out to me, but I found no trace of them.

The pyramid at the northern end of the base (Pyramid of
Carabourou) was just visible as a speck of light, and on the next
day I went to it, and found the structure there in just such a
position as the original one is said to have occupied, at the very
edge of the great ravine of G-uallabamba, though whether it stands
on the original site I am quite unable to say. The labours of the

cuAP. XV. NO CREDIT WAS GIVEN. 293

Academicians are therefore, in a fashion, still commemorated ;
though the length of the base, as La Condamine feared, is now
lost for ever.

The latter part of the month of May was principally occupied
in arranging and despatching the collections. I re-examined,
labelled, catalogued and packed more than 8000 separate objects,
and succeeded in sending them to the coast, carriage unpaid.
These were found awaiting me, while a few other cases which
were forwarded some weeks later from Riobamba, carriage paid,
were very tardy in making their appearance, and caused a fort-
night's detention at Guayaquil. It is the usual habit in the
country to pay for carriage in advance, and the carriers have
their customers at their mercy. The establishment of a system
of transit which shall be fair to both sides is a general want, that
affords another great opportunity to persons of enterprize.

As our faces were now going to be set homewards, and a
tolerably close estimate could be formed of the food and other
matters that would be required, surplus stock was cleared out. I
took a hundred Pounds over the counter in three days, and
incurred no bad debts. The success of this (my first) essay at
storekeeping was no doubt due to some lines that I saw on ^the
Isthmus ' (said to have been composed by a Calif ornian miner of
unusual literary ability), headed No Trust given", which in 1880
were exposed in a prominent position just outside the Railway
Station at Panama, and probably remain there still, as they were
looked upon with admiration, and were considered to embody a
great truth, in extremely felicitous language.^

Some of these goods were purchased by the amiable Hebraic
Yankee. In the interstices of the provision cases all sorts of
things which it was supposed might be useful were stowed away, —
amongst the rest, each tin contained a little pill-box, and each box

1 The style of this composition may be inferred from the first line —
''To TRUST is to BUST."
The remaining lines are unlit for these pages.

294

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xv.

held three little pills^ and every unit was sufficient to effect its
23urpose. There were a hundred or so boxes to be got rid of, and

the Jew was eager to trade for them. " Now Mr.

said I, as

they were handed over, '' Each of these little treasures is warranted
to do its work.^^ But he was suspicious ; and, on going home, took
the contents of a box, and subsequently took to his bed. I heard
all about it, and went to see him, expecting to find him doleful.

" Sorry to hear you are ill, Mr. . Have you tried those pills ? ^'

and found that he was delighted with his bargain. " Real fine
medicine that ! Mister, "" he exclaimed, almost rapturously, " there^s
no mistake about that medicine ! "

These matters arranged, we were ready to start ; before leaving
paying another visit to the President of the Republic, this time
under the care of H.E. the Chilian Minister, Senor J. Godoy.^
General Veintemilla again enquired if there was anything he could
do for me, and I asked for an Official statement of the Provinces
and Chief Towns of Ecuador. The Minister of Haciendas, who
was present, undertook to furnish this information, and did not
do so. It has, however, quite recently been published by the
Foreign Office, in the Report from Mr. Alfred St. John, dated
Quito, July 14, 1891, and is given below. "^

1 I take this opportunity to acknowledge a number of civilities which were
voluntarily and very cordially rendered by this accomplished Chilian, who almost
immediately afterwards was appointed Prefect of Lima, on the occupation of that
city by his countrymen.

Provinces.

Population.

Provinces.

Population

Carchi .... 36,000

Loja . . . . 66,456

Imbabura

67,940

Bolivar .

43,000

Pichincha

205,000

Rios

32,800

Leon

109,600

Oro

32,600

Tungurahua

103,033

Guayas .

98,042

Chimborazo

122,300

Manabi .

64,123

Canar .

64,014

Esmeraldas

14,553

Azuay .

132,400
)tal .

Oriente .
. 1,271,861.

80,000

Mr. St. John says " the following list shows the population of the chief towns,
which has been calculated approximately," and adds, "The taking of a census in

CHAP. XV. THE DEATH OF VERITY. 295

During the remainder of the journey we travelled under the
auspices of a fresh interpreter-courier. Mr. Verity having left me,
I engaged in his place a Quitonian, a half-Indian, Francisco Javier
Campana by name, who had tendered his services on several
occasions. Verity, not long afterwards, was accidentally killed at
Eiobamba. Kobberies were frequently occurring there, and some
of the more decent inhabitants endeavoured to put them down by
patrolling the place at night. Two of these parties met at the
corner of a street, fired into each other, and Verity fell, mortally
wounded.

Upon leaving Quito on June 7, it was understood that every-
thing would be subordinated to a second ascent of Chimborazo,
though if there was time and opportunity it was intended to
give some attention to* Illiniza, Altar, and Carihnairazo. A few
miles on the road, we came upon a small knot of people who had
assembled to bid our new interpreter farewell ; including his wife,
who cried, and screamed, and fell on his neck as if he were going
to execution. I am told that amongst the Indians a display
of grief upon the departure of a husband is quite the correct
thing, but am unaware whether his return usually produces a
corresponding amount of Joy.

Ecuador is a matter of the greatest difficulty, owing to the fact that the Indians,
who form a great part of the population, refuse to give the necessary particulars."

Quito, 50,000 ! Guayaquil, 45,000 ; Cuenca, 25,000 ; Riobamba, 12,000 ! Ambato,
10,000 ; Loja, 10,000 ; Latacunga, 10,000 ! Ibarra, 6000 ; Jipipapa, 5000 ; Otovalo,
5000; Porto-viejo, 5000 ; Guaranda, 4000; Tulcan, 3000.

In this list, Cotocachi (a larger place than Otovalo) is not mentioned. The Priest
informed me in 1880 that there were 5000 Indians and 3000 whites in his parish.
As the above is an Official statement, I only express my surprise at the increase in
the population since 1880 by a few notes of admiration.

A STAMPEDE.

CHAPTER XAa.

UPON" A WALK Oi^ THE QUITO ROAD, AKD A JOURN"EY TO ALTAR.

Our new courier was a little creature, who rode a diminutive
animal, and so they were well matched ; but the unhappy beast
had also to carry a huge Mexican saddle which was as much as
his master could lift — garnished as it was with many appendages,
including the fashionable metal ^shoe-stirrups/ Campana aspired
to look comme il faut, and wore the orthodox buskins, with several
ponchos one on top of the other, and tossed the tails of his com-
forter behind so that they might float in the wind, and shew his
carved drinking-cup, which together with the raacheta are outward
and visible signs of respectability. Let it be said for the little
man that under his auspices we travelled more rapidly, more
pleasantly and economically than before. No unlawful gains went
into his pockets, and he was an excellent interpreter.

We got away from Machachi on the 8th of June to make an-

CHAP. XVI. REPULSED AGAIN. 297

other attempt to scale Illiniza, proceeding south for about five miles
along the high road, and then turning south-westv^^ards (through
the yards of a farm just past the Bridge of Jambeli) across some
flat, open ground (which by Ecuadorians would be called imramo
and in English Common or Moorland) steering towards the depres-
sion between the two peaks/ David Beltran had got a pet Llama,
which was borrowed experimentally for this occasion, and it trotted
alongside our party without giving trouble, wearing an expression
of demure self-satisfaction on its face, as if perpetually saying to
itself, '' Gentlemen, see how well I go ! Look how nicely I behave ! ^'
It was loaded with the photographic apparatus and other small
matters, amounting in all to about 24 lbs., and carried that amount
easily. Camped at 4 p.m. slightly lower than the Col between
Great and Little Illiniza, against a large block of lava,^ at a very
bare and exposed spot (15,446 feet) ; and sent all, except the
Carrels, 2000 feet lower, down to wood and water. Snow fell
heavily during the night, and it blew hard from E.S.E. Min.
temp. 26° -5 Eaht.

In the morning, the first part of our way led over moderately
inclined debris, and then up the rather ill-defined northern arete.
At 8.30 a.m. we clearly overtopped Little Illiniza,® and about 9
came to the foot of the terminal cliff of glacier which crowns the
summit of the main peak. Depositing here the mercurial baro-
meter and other impedimenta, we quitted the arete and commenced
a traverse of the eastern face, over ice- varnished ledges, beneath a
canopy of icicles that garnished the crest of the ridge. " Let

1 Immense numbers of the butterfly Fieru xanthodice, Lucas, were flying over
this ground.

2 "A moderately dark-grey, slightly vesicular, 'trachyte.' . . There are the
usual granules of magnetite, and some minute colourless crystallites which may be
apatite. . . The rock is a hornblendic augite-andesite, containing also some mica
and hypersthene."— Prof. T. G. Bonney, Pt'oc. Rcyyal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884.

^ As the greatest height we reached on this day appeared to be 16,992 feet, I
think the elevation assigned by Messrs. Reiss & Stiibel to Little Illiniza (16,936 feet)
is too much. See page 131.

2 Q

298 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvt.

Monsieur advance a little/^ said Jean-Antoine, and I crept np to
him and looked over his shoulder. "We shall go there/'' he said,
pointing to the declivity under the top of tops (surmounted by a
cap of glacier and fringe of pendent icicles) where thickly-falling
snow, unable to lodge, was frisking and gyrating, and sliding down
in streams. "Carrel," I replied, "we will 7iot go there"; and I
went back to Machachi feeling very sore from this second repulse
on Illiniza.^

As the nature of the work upon the two attempts to ascend
this mountain was very similar (being a mixture of steep walking,
actual climbing, and step-cutting in ice and snow), I was curious
to compare our ascending rates upon these two occasions. I found
that on the 9th of February one hundred and eighty-seven minutes
were occupied in going from the camp (15,207 feet) to our highest
point (17,023 feet). The rate of ascent therefore was 9-7 feet per
minute. On the 9th of June, one hundred and fifty minutes Avere
taken in ascending 1476 feet, and the rate, consequently, was
9 '8 feet per minute. From this it appeared that there was no
notable change in our condition, either in the way of amelioration
or depreciation, in the four months that had elapsed between
Feb. 9 — June 9, during which time we had always been higher
than 7000 feet above the level of the sea, and on several occasions

1 Left camp 6.20 a.m. (temp. 32° Faht., blowing hard from N.E.), and took a
general S.W. by S. course towards the highest point. Rocks glazed with ice, and
unpleasant to touch. Followed the route taken by the Carrels at the beginning
of May, but had they not well marked the route we should have been unable to
advance. Seldom saw more than 200 yards in any direction. At 9.30 a.m. after
reading barometer and collecting rocks, went back to camp, snow falling most of the
way. Returned to Machachi by 7 p.m.

The Carrels said that their ascent was made in fine weather, and that they took
an hour and a half over the last 200 feet. In the interval, the cornice at the
summit, they said, had developed prodigiously. On the 9th of June it was composed
of an enormous mass of icicles, fifty feet and upwards in length, which broke away
from time to time, and fell over their line of ascent. There Avas more risk than I
cared to encounter from the high wind, cold, and insecure footing on glazed rocks,
raked by these falls from the overhanging cornice.

CHAP. XVI. A WALK ON THE QUITO ROAD. 299

had experienced pressures loioer than IG'5 inches (the pressure at
the second camp on Chimborazo). It seemed probable that we had
ascertained the worst that would happen to us, iwovided luc did not
have to sustain still lower pressures.

This does not, however, at all inform one whether our rate
uj^on Illiniza was inferior to that which we should have attained
upon the mountain if it had been placed at a lower level (that is
to say, if a higher pressure had been experienced whilst ascending.),
and on this point there is very little enlightenment to be obtained
by comparing the Illiniza rate with the rates of other persons upon
equally elevated mountains in different parts of the world ; for
the difficulties presented upon mountain ascents vary so much as
to make it nearly, or quite impossible to select any two upon
which one might expect to attain precisely the same rate. The
ascent of the Tetons, for example, cannot be compared with that of
Pike's Peak, or the Aiguille du Dru with Altels. The natures of
these mountains are dissimilar ; and, in order to arrive at anything
like just conclusions concerning the effects of diminished pressure,
comparisons must be made between walks of a similar nature,
taken under similar conditions. This brings me to what I consider
one of the most interesting incidents of the journey, namely, a
walk taken on the Quito road, at an elevation of about 10,000
feet, for comparison against a similar walk slightly above the
sea-level.

Before starting for the Great Andes of the Equator, I had
considered in what manner one might best determine whether
diminution in atmospheric pressure weakened the bodily powers ;
and no method appeared so practicable as comparison, at different
pressures, of the natural and habitual rate of walking. The
simplicity of this idea may perhaps excite ridicule amongst those
who are not aware of the regularity with which it is possible to
walk, and of the precision with which a pedestrian may estimate
his rate. Even amongst those who follow pedestrianism profes-
sionally, there are probably few who will admit the possibility

300

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvr.

of walking three miles without a greater difference than three
seconds between any of the miles. Nevertheless it can be done,
and by constant observation one may guess the rate, without
reference to a Avatch, within a few seconds.

In 1879, my habitual pace when walking for exercise and in
ordinary dress (not racing in airy costume) was well ascertained.
I often walked a number of consecutive miles at about eleven
minutes per mile. This was my natural and ordinary rate, and it
Avas not necessary to go over a measured mile to learn it. But, in
order that it might be verified, before leaving for Ecuador, I walked
seven miles on the Lillie Bridge Grounds, Brompton, and had the
time per mile noted by two attendants.

In Ecuador, I looked for the most level piece of road at a
considerable elevation, and found nothing more suitable than the
Quito road about two miles south of Machachi, where it was per-
fectly straight, and slightly descending towards the north. On
this I measured a half-mile with Jean-Antoine, and placed the
cousins at the two ends as witnesses and timekeepers. The same
dress was used as before (ordinary walking dress, and heavy mount-
ain boots). I found the time per mile was increased 54 seconds.
This will be seen by comparing the statements given below.

At Lillie Bridge

Grounds, Brompton,

Aug. 6, 1879.

On the Quito Road

(9925 feet above sea-level),

June 11, 1880.

min.

sec.

min. sec.

First Mile .

. 10

11 13

Second ,,

. 11

12 32

TMrd ,,

. 10

12 3

Fourth ,,

. 10

12 13

Fifth „

. 11

12 11

Sixth „

. 11

11 35

Seventh,,

. 11

. . .

Total time .

. 77

71 47

Mean rate per mile

. 11

4 (nearly) 11 58 (nearly)

Max. temp, dm-ing walk

. 67°

5 Faht.

60° -5 Faht.

Min. „ „

. 64^-0 „

49O-0 „

Mean ,,

. 65°

75 „

54° -75 „

Wind

S.S.W. (force 3-5) gusty S.S.E. (force 3-4)

CHAP. XVI. DEPRECIATED. 301

On each of these occasions, the first mile was intentionally
traversed at a quicker pace than the rest. Over the remainder
(with the exception of the last mile at Machachi), at each place, I
endeavoured to walk at exactly the same rate, mile per mile, and
at Brompton did the next three miles in 11 min., 10.58 and 10.59
respectively. In the fifth and sixth miles heavy rain fell, and
caused a marked diminution in the rate, which was improved
in the last mile with better weather, and I left off feeling that
another seven miles could certainly have been covered in less time.

Although endeavouring to accomplish the first mile on the
Quito road at the same rate as in London, it took nearly half a
minute longer, and the difference was larger on the second one.^
The next three miles were walked at a tolerably regular pace, and
I quickened up on the sixth, and left off feeling that I could
scarcely improve the rate, and certainly could not walk another
six miles in 71 min. 47 seconds. '^

It is nearly impossible upon two such occasions to have the
conditions exactly alike. At Machachi there were the advantages
of being 10 lbs. lighter than in London and walking with tempera-
ture 11° Faht. cooler, and the disadvantage of being impeded by
traffic. In London, though the track was kept clear, there was
the disadvantage (during part of the time) of walking in dragging
clothes, soaked with rain. All things considered, the conditions
were pretty evenly balanced ; and, as I am unable to assign the
depreciation in my ordinary and habitual rate to any other cause,

1 This was partly caused by having to pass three times through a large flock
of sheep.

2 Before this walk at Machachi my temperature was 98° *5 Faht., and 98°*4
35 minutes after it was over. Pulse before the walk 73, and 101 half an hour after
it was over. [M. Paul Bert has shewn that, when sitting still, the rate of the pulse
can be raised by reduction of pressure. See Appendix J.J Some years later, after
walking six miles at a much faster rate, on a measured half-mile on a Surrey road
with a gradient selected to correspond with that on the Quito road, I found that my
pulse was only raised from 73-5 (mean of two minutes) to 96 (mean of four minutes).

Owing to the failure of a medical gentleman to keep his appointment, my pulse
and temperature were not observed on Aug. 6, 1879.

302 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xyi.

I consider it was due to the fact that on the 11th of June, on
the Quito Eoad, atmospheric pressure was a little over 21 inches,
instead of the 29 — 30 inches to which I was accustomed.

Some persons^ disbelieve in the reality of mountain-sickness,
and seem reluctant to credit that human beings can be affected by
diminution in atmospheric pressure, and to them, perhaps, this
experiment will prove nothing. As regards myself, it appeared
to me to be conclusive that a marked effect was produced, and
an effect of a kind which I had never suspected at corresponding
altitudes (pressures) in the Alps, where there was no possibility of
applying a similar test.^

On the 12th of June we finally left Machachi, and marched
(without change of animals) in three successive days to Latacunga,^
Ambato, and Eiobamba. The Jovial Man (who had sometimes
been a cause of embarrassment) was replaced by a strong and very
willing lad, named Domingo — otherwise the caravan was composed
as before. The 15th was consumed in preparations for Altar, and
in enquiries as to route. After balancing a number of opinions, it

1 Including Men of Science. Prof. Piazzi Smyth, F.R.SS. L. & E., etc., etc.,
says in his Teneriffe, an Astronomer^ s Uxperiment, at pp. 381-2, "If a windlass or a
treadmill were erected in London, and a gentleman in easy circumstances set some
fine morning to perform at one of these ingenious machines an amount of work,
equal to the mechanical task of raising his own weight up through the height of
10,000 feet perpendicular in seven hours, — I believe that, though breathing air, of a
density of thirty mercurial inches, he would be distressed as much as the traveller
who, by ascending a mountain, performs the same." The remainder of the passage
should be read.

- It would be interesting if pedestrians, who have ascertained to a nicety the
times within which they have frequently covered such distances as one hundred
yards or a mile, would endeavour to repeat their performances on the flat pieces of
road which can be found at the tops of some of the Alpine carriage passes.

3 In returning from Machachi to Latacunga, we took the old road, past Mulalo,
on the left bank of the Cutuchi, and visited the so-called Inca's house which is
situated a short distance to the south of Callo. The small amount of the original
structure still remaining has been embodied in some modern farm-buildings. The
stones were finely dressed, and fitted without mortar or cement. I saw none measuring
more than 18 x 12 x 12 inches.

CHAP. XVI. THE MASTER OF CANDELARIA. 303

was decided to proceed via Penipe, and we went to that place on
June 16^ leaving part of our animals at Eiobamba to recruit.^

At Penipe, the Jefo-politico was also the village tailor. He
administered the law and mended trousers alternately ; and created
a favourable impression on five minutes^ acquaintance, after declar-
ing, according to the manner of the country, that his house was
ours, by adding with uncommon frankness, ''but, Senor, I would
recommend you not to go in-doors, for the fleas are numerous, and
I think your Excellencies would be uncomfortable ! ''

Having obtained some information from him, we went on in
the afternoon to a small hacienda called Candelaria, a miserably
poor place, where nothing eatable could be had ; and, being advised
that mules could not be used much farther, negotiated transport
with several young louts who were loafing about. For eighteen-
pence each per day, and food, four of them agreed to go to the
end of their world — that is to say, to the head of the Valley of
Collanes.

The master of this ragged team could hardly be distinguished
from his men. He was a young fellow of three or four and twenty,
who wore a tattered billycock hat, and no shoes or stockings. His
very sad countenance probably had some connection with his
obvious poverty. The farm could scarcely have been more bare
of food. There was general want of everything — of yerha for the
beasts, who had to go back for forage ; for ourselves there was
nothing; and food for the porters had to be fetched from a dis-
tance and sent up after us. The master volunteered to come on
the same terms as his men, and to this I consented, on condition
that he worked ; though feeling that it was somewhat out of ])\ace
to have one of the great landed proprietors of the country in my
train. This shoeless, stockingless, and almost scms-culottian youth

1 Riobamba probably covers nearly as much ground as Quito. Its principal
Plaza is large, and the streets are made of very unusual width, as a precaution in
case of earthquakes. For the same reason the houses mostly consist of one floor
only. It had an empty and deserted air, and in 1880 cannot, I think, have contained
more than 7000 inhabitants.

304 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvi.

claimed (I am informed, truly) to be the absolute owner of a
princely domain. His land, he said, stretched from Candelaria to
the Volcano Sangai. In the vicinity of the farm its boundaries
were defined, "but elsewhere ^^ (said with a grand sweep of the
hand) "it extended as far as you could go to the east/' At a
moderate estimate, he owned three hundred square miles.

On the 17th of June, in two hours from the farm, we came to
a patch of open ground in the middle of a forest, and the Master
of Candelaria, who acted as guide, said mules could go no farther.
Cevallos was left here with the animals, while we continued on
foot, traversing at first a dense wood, which was impenetrable
until three men with machetas had cleared a way, and then 800
very steep feet up the buttress of an alp.^ This brought us to a
track winding, at a high elevation, along the northern side of the
Valley of Collanes. At the latter part of the day we crossed from
the right to the left bank of the valley, and encamped (at 12,540
feet) in a little patch of trees, close to the foot of the highest peak
of Altar.

This valley of Collanes was well watered. Eain fell all the
way, and during nearly the whole of the succeeding four days. Its
slopes were adapted for grazing, deep with luxuriant grass, yet
without a house, or hut, or sign of life. " Why are there no cattle
here ?" "No money,'' replied the youth, gloomily. " Well," said
Jean-Antoine, "if / had this valley I would make a fortune."
When returning, we asked the Master if he would sell some of
this land, pointing out a tract about six miles long by three or
four broad — say twenty square miles, and he answered in the
affirmative. " For how much ? " He reflected a little, and said
" one hundred pesos." " For three hundred and fifty francs. Carrel,
the land is yours ! " It was just one farthing per acre. As he was
so moderate, I thought of buying Altar for myself, and asked what

^ There were some very steep bits on this journey ; — from the Bridge of Penipe
to the village (about 350 feet) ; between Penipe and Candelaria, 950 feet in one con-
tinuous ascent ; and then the 800 feet mentioned above. The track in the Valley of
Collanes itself was more level and less undulating than usual.

CHAP. XVI. AT CA3IP IN THE VALLEY OF COLLANES.

305

he would take for the whole mountain, "^o ! no ! he would not
sell at any price. ^' '*^AYhy not?^' He was reluctant to answer.
*' Why will you not sell Altar ?'' " Because titer e is much treasure
there ! '"

The treasures of Altar have yet to be discovered. The mount-
ain is an extinct Volcano, having a crater in the form of a
horse-shoe (larger than that of Cotopaxi), open towards the west ;

AT CAMP IN THE VALLEY OF COLLANES.

with an irregular rim, carrying some of the finest rock peaks in
Ecuador. The culminating point ^ is on the southern, and the
second peak (which is only slightly inferior in elevation to the
highest point) lies opposite to it on the northern side of the crater.
The walls of the cirque are exceedingly rugged, with much snow,
and the floor is occupied by a glacier, which is largely fed by falls
from ' hanging-glaciers ' on the surrounding slopes and cliffs. The

^ According to La Condamine its height is 17,458 feet ; Reiss & Stiibel say 17,730
feet. It is probably the fifth iu rank of the Great Andes of the Equator.

2 R

306 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xyi.

highest peak rises about 3500 feet above the apparent floor of the
crater in cliffs as precipitous as the steepest part of the Eigher.

June 18. In Camp in the Valley of Collanes. Finding that we
Avere nearly under the highest peak, and (from such glimpses as
could be obtained through the clouds) that there was very little
chance of an ascent being effected from the inside of the crater,
I sent off J. -A. Carrel at 5.30 a.m., with two of the porters, to
examine the outside, and Louis with another to the outside of the
second peak. Soon after mid-day Jean-Antoine returned, and
reported unfavourably ; and at 4 p.m. Louis came back, saying he
had no view of the second summit during the whole day, but
thought we could go as far as he had seen.^ Determined to shift
camp to the north side of the mountain, outside the crater, if
weather would permit. Min. temp, this night was 33° "5, and on
the 17th, 29° Faht.

June 19. In Camp in tlie Valley of Collanes. High wind from
the south-east nearly blew the tent over in the night, though it
was well protected by trees. At daybreak there was a hard gale,
and we were unable to move the camp. All the peaks of Altar
were clouded, and much new snow had fallen on the lower crags.

^ They brought back rock samples from the highest points which were reached.
I judge, from the aneroids supplied to them, that Jean-Antoine' s party got to about
15,500 feet on the south side of the highest point, and Louis' to about 14,500 feet on
the north-west side of the second summit. In regard to the specimen broken by
Jean-Antoine from rock in situ Prof. Bonney says (Froc. Royal Soc, Nov. 27, 1884), —
"A very dark compact rock, with fairly numerous specks of a greyish felspar, and
with occasional minute vesicles. Under the microscope the ground-mass is found
to be a glass, in itself almost colourless, but so crowded with opacite as to appear
almost opaque with low powers ; in fact its true structure can only be seen in very
thin sections and with high powers. . . It is a little difficult to decide whether to
retain this rock in the augite-andesites, or to term it a basalt." The rock from the
northern peak of Altar is " a reddish-grey trachyte, studded with crystals of rather
glassy white felspar, roughly about "1 inch diameter, and containing some minute
vesicles. The ground-mass appears to be a clear glass, with numerous lath-like
crystallites of felspar, but is so thickly crowded with ferrite and opacite, especially
the former, as to be all but opaque except in the thinnest part of the section. . . The
rock is an augite-andesite, probably containing some hypersthene."

oiiAP. XVI. ' ANOTHER SARA-URCU: 807

Same state of things continued all day. A¥ind dropped at night.
Min. temp, again 33° '5 Faht.

Watched for the peaks all day. Saw that the highest point
near its summit Avas guarded by pinnacles as steep as the Aiguille
du Dru. The face towards the north carried several hanging-
glaciers. Frequently heard the roars of avalanches tumbling from
them on to the glacier in the crater, the true bottom of which
probably lies several hundred feet below the ice. This crater-
glacier, in advancing, falls over a steep wall of rock at the head of
the Valley of Collanes, in a manner somewhat similar to the
Tschingel Glacier in the Gasteren Thai. Some of the ice breaks
away in slices, and is re-compacted at the base of the cliff, while
part maintains the continuity of the upper plateau with the fallen
and smashed fragments. This connecting link of glacier (seen in
front) appears to descend almost vertically.

June 20. From Gamp in the Valley of Collanes to Camp in the
Valley of Naranjal. Broke up camp and left at 7.25 a.m.; crossed
a small ridge running out of the north-west end of the crater,
and descended into the Valley of Naranjal. Spied a big rock
surrounded by small trees, and camped against it (13,053 feet).
The Valley of Naranjal skirts the outside of Altar on the north.
Was told that in six hours it would bring one to the village of
TJtufiac. The second peak of Altar was almost exactly due East
of camp.

In afternoon went with Jean-Antoine to the crest of the ridge
on the .north of our valley, to try to make out a route and for
angles to fix our position. Descended after waiting two hours and
seeing nothing. Great quantities of smoke rising from the bottom
of our valley. Found camp nearly surrounded by flames — Louis
Carrel having set fire to the grass to amuse himself. All hands
had to work for an hour to beat out the flames and cut down
bushes, and we narrowly escaped being burnt out. Continued
windy and misty all night, and nothing could be seen. " This is
going to be another Sara-urcu,^^ groaned Jean-Antoine, whose

308

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvi.

thoughts were in the Val Tonrnanche. Min. temp, in night 34^
Faht.

June 21. From Camp in Valley of Naranjal to Penipe.
Settled overnight to return to Riobamba if there was no improve-
ment in the weather. In morning, as before, fog right down to
bottom of valley, with steady drizzle. Master of Candelaria said
this was the regular thing, and gave no hope
of improvement. Waited a little, and got occa-
sional glimpses of second summit. Saw a hurri-
cane was blowing near the top, the snow curling
and eddying round in tourmentes. Broke up camp

THE BRIDGE OF PENIPE.

in despair, recrossed ridge at north-west end of Altar,^ descended
Valley of Collanes rapidly, and arrived at Penipe at 5.5 p.m.
Eemembering the advice of the worthy tailor, I endeavoured to

^ Round about the summit of this pass between the two valleys, rather more
than 13 000 feet above the level of the sea, on ground where snow had fallen every-
day during our stay, I collected twenty-six species of flowering plants in flower,
including several Valerians and Geraniums, and flve Gentians (Gentiana cerastioides,
Griset ; G. cernua, H.B.K. ; G, foUosa, H.B.K. ; G. Rima Don, Ruiz & Pavon ; and
G. sedifolia, H.B.K.) In the same neighbourhood the lichens Usnea cornuta^
Koerb., and Stereocaulon tomentosicm, Fries, and the moss Grimmia amblyoj^hyllay
CM. were abundant.

CHAP. XVI. A NIGHT AT PENIPE. 309

sleep outside the house on a plank form — a thing with length and
no breadth ; and finding that this, through being near the ground,
allowed the curs of Penipe to browse on my boots, shifted in the
course of the night to the top of a table (which had breadth but
no length), and curled myself up, as printers might say, into the
shape of C, grotesque.

Little refreshed by slumber, we returned across the rickety
bridge to Eiobamba ; without incident except a furious stampede
of our animals, who took this way of shewing that they had
benefited by their sojourn in the forest. As a general rule,
Ecuadorian mules display no eagerness to get either onward or
upward, and upon flat, open ground, where there is plenty of room,
each one seems to wish to be last ; while on approaching narrow
places, and ruts in greasy earth where only one can pass at a time,
suddenly galvanized into life, they dash forward with outstretched
necks, racing to get through first ; and deaf to command, persua-
sion or entreaty outstrip the arrieros, unheeding their shouts and
^^lado's,^^ and rush at headlong speed, cannoning each other and
dislodging their loads. Then arises Hullaballoo ! while the corners
of packing-cases are splintered and their sides stove in, to the
future dismay of consignor and consignee. After six months^
experience of the manners and customs of the Ecuadorian mule,
one began to understand why glass was dear in Quito.

A THREATENED ATTACK.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE FIRST ASCEN^T OF CARIHUAIRAZO.

Although compelled by force of circumstances to leave Chim-
borazo for a while (see pp. 78-80)^ nothing had occurred to alter
my determination to ascend that mountain again ; and indeed it
was strengthened, because I perceived that a repetition of baro-
metric observations would have, for the measurements of pressure
which had been made since the first ascent, much the same value
as a ' base of verification ' in a triangulation. There was no longer
reluctance on the part of my assistants — they were my most
willing and obedient servants — and we expected to have the com-
pany of Campana and David, both of whom had shewn some
aptitude in keeping on their legs. When preparations were com-
pleted at Riobamba, I proposed first to execute a measurement on

CHAP. XVII. A TENDER CONSCIENCE. 311

the Quito road to get ' a scale ' for Chimborazo ; next to ascend
Carihuairazo, to test the snow-going abilities of the aspirants ;
then to cross between the two mountains and to ascend Chim-
borazo by the long snow-slope which had been remarked from
Guaranda (see p. 25) ; and lastly to complete the circuit of the
mountain. Though little margin of time was left for the unfore-
seen, if everything went happily, it was possible to do this by the
8th of July, the date on which it would be necessary to leave, to
catch the steamer going north from Guayaquil.

Before starting from the town, we took advantage of market-
day to lay in additional stores ; and as my people fancied the bread
of the country, which was brought in for sale by Indian women,
Jean-Antoine and I went to the Plaza, and bought a sackful. We
then moved off to continue purchasing in another part, and pre-
sently found ourselves followed by one of the women, who talked
glibly in some incomprehensible aboriginal dialect, proffering an
armful of bread, which apparently she wanted to sell. We shook
our heads and tried to get rid of her, but she would not be rebuffed,
and became an annoyance by creating ^a scene.'' It was at last
explained by one of the bystanders that she wished us to take the
bread gratis, that it was our due, she had not given enough for the
money that had been paid ; and nothing would induce that woman
to go away until it was accepted, and her conscience was satisfied.

Jtine 25.^ From Riohamha to Camp on lower slopes of Cliim-
horazo. Despatched the Carrels, David, Campana, Cevallos, and
Domingo at 9.15 a.m., with eleven beasts, and followed at 11.15.
Made for the depression between Chimborazo and Carihuairazo,
and camped about two and a half miles to the north-east of
Chuquipoquio.^ Rainy day. Min. temp, at night 30° '5 Faht.

June 26. Measurement on road, (&c. Sent out Domingo to cut

1 At the place marked Camp 7 on Map of Chimborazo.

2 On the 24:th, I received a letter from Mr. Chambers (Guayaquil), which had
been written, and despatched by the ordinary post, on April 3. All letters in this
country are liable to be opened and delayed. In 1880, it was said that the British
Minister's letters were the only ones which were exempt from this treatment.

312

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvii.

firewood ; Campana and David to Mocha and the neighbouring
villages to collect antiquities and to buy food ; and went with the
Carrels to commence measurement on the high road, where it
runs across the Paramo of Sanancajas. On return to camp found
that Domingo had been assailed by two men, who took away his
macheta, and would not restore it until he had given up all the
money he possessed. At dusk a horseman rode up (who was
recognized as one of the men attached to Chuquipoquio), and in a
very insolent manner demanded payment for permission to camp,
and for the grass our beasts were eating. Had it explained to him
that he had better take himself off, and he rode away shouting
that he would come back with others at night and steal our
animals. About 9 p.m. Campana and David came in, very excited,
saying that a few miles off, on the high road, two men had spread
a white cloth before their beasts, to try to frighten them, and had
then rushed in. There was a tussle, and my men scampered off,
with the loss of a few trifles.

Putting these several things together, it seemed that Sefior
Chiriboga must have again come up from
Eiobamba '' to watch over and care for us "
(see p. 82), and it became necessary to avoid
his attentions. The position of the camp was
excellent for defence, though it had not been
selected with any such view. There was a
small torrent on the north side, and a narrow
but deep earthquake fissure on the south.
The two united towards the east, and our
camp was placed on the west (at A, B).
When the animals were driven into Z, no
one could get at them without passing us.
Kept watch until past midnight, and then
roused Louis to take a turn for an hour, but

before his time was half over he was snoring again. Continued
to watch, and at 2 a.m. heard whistling, and low voices of persons

ciiAF. XVII. A THREATENED ATTACK. 313

approaching. Said nothing ; took my whip and aroused the
others ; hung out the lanterns to shew them the way^, and shouted
defiance. Apparently^ the thieves thought they might have a
warm reception and went off. Night being very dark, we saw
no one. After this my people considered that it might be as
well to keep watch, and I went to sleep. A windy, rainy night.

June 27. From Camp near High Road to Camp on the south side
of Carihuairazo. At 8.15 a.m. a muleteer from Machachi (known
to Cevallos) came in and said that eleven beasts had, been stolen
from him last night, a few miles on the other side of the tambo.
Even the loss of one animal would have caused us great incon-
venience, — probably would have upset everything ; and, as there
were evidently cattle-stealers about, we abandoned the measure-
ment, and moved upwards out of their reach, and beyond the
attentions of the robber of Chuquipoquio. At 1.30 p.m. broke up
camp, and proceeded by the valley between Chimborazo and
Carihuairazo, called Yacu-larca, passing a number of half-wild
cattle, with lashing tails and twitching heads, who could have
made a very pretty mess of us if they had charged ; and about
3.30 crossed the stream.

In the bed of this river (the Rio Blanco) there were quick-
sands, of which I became aware by being nearly shot over the
head of my animal ; ^ and the slopes on the farther side were found
to be very swampy. Large thickets high up on the flanks of
our mountain, with trees of considerable age, lead one to suppose
that it was long since it was an active Volcano. We steered for
a rather prominent clump, in a vallon running north and south,
and camped at 13,377 feet on its western or right bank, nearly
due south of the two principal summits of Carihuairazo. Violent
wind at night from E. to N.E. Min. temp. 33° Faht.

^ As the Rio Blanco was a trifling stream, we began to cross it in three or four
places at once. Several of the animals passed over without trouble. My own
refused to advance, until whipped, and in the very next step it plunged into a
quicksand. All hands coming quickly, it was speedily extricated.

314 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvii.

June 28. In Camp. Kept indoors. Had not got the bearing
of the summit, and would not start. Clouds nearly down to our
level all day, and from 12 to 8 p.m. rain, sleet or hail fell unceas-
ingly. After that saw stars for a short time and got bearings.
Prepared for an early start to-morrow. Cut bundles of branches
and twigs to mark line of ascent. Rain and snow recommenced
at 9 p.m., and continued to fall nearly all night.

June 29. Ascent of the middle peak of Carihuairazo. Left
camp at 5.50 a.m. by lantern-light, with the Carrels, David, and
Campana, — the two latter being taken to test their snow-going
abilities by a little preliminary exercise. Fitted them out in some
of our old boots and socks, with gaiters extemporized out of coarse
waterproof. Was also accompanied by a four-footed volunteer.

At the village of Penipe there were many dogs, and one of
them followed our caravan, and could not be driven away. Pos-
sibly somebody had given it a bone, or shewn it a little kindness ;
and as the mongrel was grateful it became a pet, and then of
course had to be named, and finding it answered to Pedro it was
known thenceforward as Pedro de Penipe. AVhen we left camp
our dog insisted upon accompanying us, and it went to the top of
the mountain.

From the reconnaissance on the 15th of January (see note to
page 87) it was known that Carihuairazo had two principal peaks
(lying not far to the north of the camp), and another minor one
away to the west. The easternmost was the highest of the three,
and we had marked a prominent ridge leading up to it, and
observed that this ridge was on the west of our vallon. The
ascent could not have been made without this previous knowledge.
The summit was not seen until we were actually upon it, and
during the day it was seldom possible to see more than one
hundred and fifty feet in any direction. The leader was often
invisible to the last man on the rope. Snow-spectacles frequently
could not be used.

Commenced by steering N.W. up the hillside, and when the

CHAP. XVII. ON THE SUMMIT OF CARIEUAIRAZO. 315

crest of the ridge was reached changed the course to N.N.W., and
followed the arete. Although this was only a little above 14,000
feet, every step was through deep, new snow/ About 7.30
entered on the glaciers surrounding the summits. Tied up, and
placed David last on the rope, with the sticks to mark the route.
Glacier soon steepened and required cutting. Small crevasses
were snowed up, and the big ones looked immense, seen through
the mist. Traversed several large snow - bridges, which drew
exclamations of wonder from the Ecuadorians, who had never seen
the like before. Snow steepened, and at last became a wall,
nearly or quite as rapid as the final slope of the Wetterhorn.

At this stage Pedro wanted to give in, and sat down and
whined. Handed him up from one to another. By a stroke of
good fortune stumbled on a snow -bridge crossing the highest
bergschrund. Then the wall became too steep to ascend directly.
Made short zigzags, and presently saw a gigantic cornice looming
through the fog — an indication that the summit was near. Con-
sultation ended in going straight ahead, and we happily penetrated
the most assailable point.

Temperature on the top of this mountain ranged from 38 - 40°
Faht., and the mean of two readings of the Mercurial Barometer
at 11 and 11.15 a.m. (reduced to 32° Faht.) was 16 '519 inches.^
This was not so low as I expected the barometer to fall, and while
still on the summit I told the men that probably we were not on
the highest point. Our peak terminated in a snow cone too small
to stand upon, with a little patch of rock ^ peeping out a short

^ In January this ridge was free from snow,

2 The 11 a.m. observation at Guayaquil (reduced to 32° Faht.) was 29*928
inches, air temperature 74° Faht.

^ " This rock breaks with a rather rough irregular fracture. The colour on this
is a warm purplish-grey mottled with darker spots, and speckled with small rather
light-coloured crystals of felspar with a rather satiny lustre. A few minute vesicles
may be perceived under the microscope. . . Enclosures of glass or various raicro-
liths are occasionally seen, but the majority of the crystals are fairly clear, though
a few are very dirty, and have a corroded look at the exterior. There is also present
in the ground-mass a fair number of crystals of augite of a yellowish-green colour,

316 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvii.

distance down upon the north side, bearing some lichens {Lecidea
and Lecanora) and, for such a situation, a not inconsiderable
quantity of a Moss which has been dubiously identified as Grimmia
apocaiya, Hedw. This same species was found in the previous
January near the second camp on Chimborazo, at the rather
exceptional height (for a Moss) of 16,660 feet ; but it was more
remarkable to find it on the very apex of Carihuairazo (16,515
feet), completely surrounded as it was by permanent snow and ice
upon all sides, as truly insulated as if it had been upon an island
surrounded with water.

Carihuairazo forms the northern end of the massif of Chim-
borazo, and is separated from the greater mountain by a depression
called Abraspungo.^ Its northern slopes extend almost to the
town of Ambato, and the Quito Eoad may be considered its
boundary on the east. Historians say that it was formerly loftier
than Chimborazo, and that a portion of its apex fell during a great
earthquake which occurred at the end of the 17th century.'^ I
cannot imagine that it was ever 4000 feet higher than it is at
present. The ruins of such a peak would make a prodigious heap,
yet we saw nothing indicating that a fall of great magnitude had
occurred. The present summit-ridge possiUy formed the southern
and western sides of a crater, of which the northern and eastern
sides may have fallen, and now lie buried under the glaciers at the
summit. This, however, is pure conjecture.

not exceeding about 'OS inch in lengtli, and two or three which in structure,
■dichroism, and parallel extinction agree with hypersthene. There are scattered
crystals of hematite and scales of iron-glance. . . The ground-mass appears to be a
clear glass thickly studded with dusty ferrite, and with minute crystallites in part,
at least, felspar. The rock is, therefore, an augite-andesite." — Prof. T. G. Bonney,
Proc. Royal Soc, June 19, 1884.

' There is a rough track all the way up Yacu-larca to Abraspungo. As we did
not descend by this path on the western side, I am not aware what direction it
takes, after crossing the pass.

2 It would be interesting if this tradition could be verified, as it might give
a clue to the age of the glaciers which now completely envelop the top of the
mountain.

CHAP. XVII.

SNOW-BLIND AGAIN.

31^

CARIHUAIRAZO, FROM THE SOUTH.

Occasional glimpses
were obtained through the
clouds for a few hundred
feet in various directions,
but whilst on the summit we
neither saw Chimborazo nor the other peaks of Carihuairazo ; and
we returned to camp uncertain where we had been. At 4 p.m.
the clouds opened, and shewed that we had stood on the western
of the two principal peaks (that nearly in the middle of the
engraving), which is distinctly, though slightly, lower than the
eastern one.

The rate of ascent on this day was eleven feet per minute
(3138 feet in 285 minutes).^ Taking into consideration that this
was their first experience upon steep snow, David and Campana
came out well, and they were greatly elated at the prospect of
their promised ascent of Chimborazo. Presently their joy was
turned into mourning. In a few hours the whole of us were

1 Left camp 5.50 a.m. and arrived on summit 10.35 a.m. Left at 11.45 a.m.;
came down fast ; never lost sight of the sticks we had planted (though in some
instances they were nearly covered by drifting snow), and got to camp at 2.5 p.m.,
without halting.

318

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xvii.

incapacitated by snow-blindness. Foreseeing what was coming, a
brew of Sulphate of Zinc was made in our largest can, and served
out wholesale. It was piteous to hear the Ecuadorians wailing
under their little booth. Not knowing what had befallen them,

they imagined they had
lost their sight for ever.
Pedro joined in the
lamentations, and went
moaning and stagger-
ing about, knocking his

FOURTH CAMP ON CHIMBORAZO (l4,359 FEET).

head unwittingly against
the branches.

Jime 30. At Camp on
CariJmairazo. All snow-
blind, unable to move. De-
pended for assistance on
Cevallos and Domingo.

July 1. From Camj? on Garihuairazo to Fourth Camp on Cliim-
horazo, across Ahraspuugo. Broke up camp at 10 a.m. ; descended
the vallon, and ascended Yacu-larca to Abraspungo, Jean-Antoine
and Campana travelling with bandaged eyes, and the rest wearing
blue spectacles. Stopped on the summit of the pass to read the

CHAP. XVII. FIFTH CA3IP ON CHIMBORAZO. 319

barometer^ and^ found that the height (14,480 feet) was a little
above that of the Great Arenal. After crossing it we kept for
some time on a level/ and were then driven downwards to turn the
end of a large stream of lava.''^ Rounding the base of this, we came
upon an excellent place for camping, against a little rivulet, with
plenty of firing, and made there our fourth camp on Chimborazo
(14,359 feet). Min. temp, in night 30° Faht.

The fourth cam^o was not high enough for a starting-point, and
on the 2nd of July we continued a few miles farther in a south-
westerly direction, and established the fifth camp at the height of
15,811 feet, against a very large block of lava ^ (apparently, a loose
mass imbedded in the soil, that had either been ejected or had
fallen from the cliifs above) a little to the north of the ridge which
hereafter will be termed the north-west ridge of Chimborazo.* I
identified this as the long ridge seen from G-uaranda, and knew
that it led directly towards the summit. Jean-Antoine, however,
maintained that I was mistaken. '^ I tell you what it is,^' said the
Chief of the Staff, "Monsieur deceives himself, j^rettily.''

* A few hundred yards on the west of the pass, the swampy soil suddenly gives
place to firm ground ; and a little farther on the sandy slopes commence which stretch
uninterruptedly round the north-west and western sides of the mountain.

2 This prominent lava stream appeared to issue from the glaciers at the height of
about 18,000 feet, — one could not see precisely where, owing to the large quantity
of new-fallen snow.

^ There was great difficulty in breaking specimens from this mass, which was
unlike any other rock that I saw on the mountain. When broken, it crumbled
somewhat in the manner of loaf-sugar. Prof. Bonney says: — "A rather crumbly
rock of very irregular fracture, having a very dark grey ground-mass, in which
crystals of glassy -white felspar, up to about '2 inch long, are imbedded. When
examined microscopically, it does not appear to differ materially from some of those
already described ... is different only in the colour of the ground-mass, and is best
named a hypersthene-andesite." — Proc. Royal Soc., June 19, 1884.

^ The direction of this ridge is not strictly north - west. It is more nearly
north-north-west.

CHIMBORAZO, FROM THE NORTH-NORTH-WEST.

CHAPTER XVIII.

O^ THE SECOND ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO.

The aspect of Chimborazo from the north-nortli-west was quite
unlike its appearance from any other direction. The two summits
could not be seen/ and the mountain seemed to terminate in one
very flat dome. I found that this apparent summit was actually
at C on my map, and was part of the glacier which I have named
Glacier de Eeiss, after Dr. W. Reiss of Berlin. Under this
great flat dome there were vertical sections of glacier, crowning
precipices of rock, in a manner similar to those which are repre-
sented in the plate facing p. 76 ; and falls of ice occurred over
these cliffs, as the glacier advanced, like those that are described
upon page 78.^ In order to be beyond the range of these ice-

1 The highest of the two summits could be seen from the fourth camp, rising
over the glacier that I have named Glacier de Spruce. The very highest point
was, probably, concealed.

2 The blocks of ice that fell from the faces of glacier marked E, E (on the inset
Sketch plan of part of the south side of Chimborazo), over the cliffs B, C, sometimes
rolled down the Glacier de Debris as far as Station 4.

CUAP. XVIII. PEDRO DECLINES AN ASCENT. 321

avalanches, I kept the camp about three miles from the base of
the cliffs.

The north-west ridge led up to the western end of ' the
Northern Walls/ ^ and the tent might have been placed upon it
even higher than the third camp on the south-west ridge (17,285
feet). To have done this would have cost much labour in
porterage, and, balancing things, it seemed preferable to stop
beloAV, closer to things burnable ; although the starting-point
would be nearly fifteen hundred feet lower than upon the first
occasion, and the ascent, consequently, would be that amount
longer. We had come to our very last day. In one way and
another all our margin of time had been dissipated, and unless the
ascent was effected on the 3rd of July it could not be made at all.
This was in no sense the fault of my people. Each man had his
allotted tasks, knew them, and did them ; and during these last
days every one worked with a cheerfulness and alacrity beyond
praise. Without bidding, Jean-Antoine now went to reconnoitre
the ridge ; Louis, David, and Campana made things comfortable ;
Cevallos and Domingo drove away the animals to pasturage ; and
on the 3rd, while it was still night, all were in readiness, booted
and gaitered, waiting for the signal to start.

Whilst chafing hands around the camp-fire,^ Domingo and our
four-footed friend appeared out of the darkness. The arriero-lad
came to volunteer his services. I said ''^ No ; a couple of tyros are
enough on a rope." Then a sudden idea seized. us. Let us take
Pedro. He was already entitled to bow-wows from all dogs who
had stood on inferior eminences, — let us enable him to take pre-
cedence over the entire canine race. '' Ha ! Pedro ; good dog,
come here ! " Pedro was sociable, and came willingly so long as we
were round the fire ; but moved away when we began to load, and

^ I conjecture this was the ridge by which Dr. Stiibel endeavoured to ascend
Chimborazo. On the 3rd of July, from 17,000 feet upwards, it was entirely covered
with snow, and down to 16,000 feet there were many patches upon it.

2 The minimum this night was 25° Faht.

2 T

322 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii.

looked doubtfully. We took up the axes — he went farther off. Calls
were in vain, and finally he put his tail between his legs and bolted
down hill as hard as he could scamper. '^ No, my masters. Yoit
may go up, but /shall go down — no more snow-blindness for me."

At 5.15 a.m., when tones began to change to detail, we left the
camp ; and this day, for once, the heavens seemed to smile upon
us. The sky was bright — the air serene ; and long before dawn,
sixty miles away, we saw the cone of Cotopaxi clear cut against a
cloudless horizon, and remarked how tranquil the great Volcano
looked, and that not a sign of smoke was rising from its crater.^
Soon a cold wind sprang up. I lingered behind, to beat my hands
and feet, and whilst resting back against a rock, looking towards
the north, saw the commencement of an eruption.

At 5.40 a.m. two puffs of steam were emitted, and then there
was a pause. At 5.45 a column of inky blackness began to issue,
and went up straight in the air with such prodigious velocity that
in less than a minute it had risen 20,000 feet above the rim of the
crater.^ I could see the upper 10,000 feet of the volcano/ and
estimated the height of the column at double the height of the
visible portion of the mountain. The top of the column, therefore,
was nearly forty thousand feet above the level of the sea. At that
elevation it encountered a powerful wind blowing from the east,
and was rapidly borne towards the Pacific ; remaining intensely
black, seeming to spread very slightly, and presenting the appear-
ance of a gigantic — i drawn upon an otherwise perfectly clear sky.
It was then caught by wind from the north, and, borne towards
us, appeared to spread quickly.

Meanwhile the others progressed steadily over the snow-beds
and stony debris on the crest of the ridge, and I did not catch
them for nearly an hour. At 6.50 a.m. we tied up, as the snow

1 This was the onl}^ occasion on which we saw the crater quite free from smoke
and steam during tlie wliole of our stay in Ecuador.

2 I did not note the time it took to rise to this elevation. My impression is
that it was an affair of a few seconds.

CHAP. XVIII.

JEAN-ANTOINE BECOMES DEAF.

323

became continuous, and proceeded along the arete until it came
to a termination at the extreme western end of ' the Northern
Walls ' ; ^ and then bore away horizontally to the right, to an
islet of rock, and halted at 8.35 a.m. for breakfast.^ The barometer
said that we had risen 3000 feet in three hours and twenty
minutes; — the mercury had sunk from 16'950 to 15*177 inches,
while temperature had risen from 30° to 46° Faht. We were
already 18,900 feet above the sea.

COMMENCEMENT OF THE ERUPTION
OF COTOPAXI, JULY 3, 1880.

In a half - hour the march was
resumed. The slopes here were too
steep for direct escalade, and we still
bore away to the south (traversing
the head of the glacier which I have
named after Dr. Alphons Stlibel of
Dresden), opening out the valley of
the Chimbo, and an immense pro-
spect beyond. '^^ Hi ! Carrel ! what is

that?^' ^^ Gruaranda, Monsieur." " G-uaranda ! Monsieur deceives
himself, does he?" but the man in front suddenly became
deaf, and could not hear a word. At this time the view was
magnificent. We could see to the bottom of the basin of the
Chimbo, eleven thousand feet below, and overlooked the country
on the west by four or five thousand feet. Between us and the
sea, the whole expanse from north to south was filled by the
Pacific Range of Ecuador, with countless peaks and ramifications —

^ This is just beyond the range of the engraving on p. 320, on the right.
2 At the spot marked Z on the Map of Chimborazo.

324 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviir.

valleys^ vallons, dells and dales, backed by the Ocean/ rising above
the haze which obscured the flat coast land.

Now we turned back to the north, and zigzagged to and fro to
ease the ascent, getting into the direct rays of the sun, which was
already more than fifty degrees high. The clouds from Cotopaxi
were bearing down upon Chimborazo, seeming to rise higher and
yet higher in the sky, although they were actually descending.
For a full hour we saw the immense column still rising from the
crater, and then the clouds which were drifting towards us shut
it out.

When they commenced to intervene between the sun and our-
selves the effects which were produced were truly amazing. We
saw a green sun, and smears of colour something like verdigris
green high up in the sky, which changed to equally extreme blood-
reds, or to coarse brick-reds, and then passed in an instant to the
colour of tarnished copper, or shining brass. No words can convey
the faintest idea of the impressive appearance of these strange
colours in the sky — seen one moment and gone the next — re-
sembling nothing to which they can properly be compared, and
surpassing in vivid intensity the wildest effects of the most
gorgeous sunsets.

The terms that I have employed to designate the colours which
were seen are both inadequate and inexact. Their most striking
features were their extraordinary strength, their extreme coarseness,
and their dissimilarity from any tints or tones ever seen in the
sky, even during sunrises or sunsets of exceptional brilliancy.
They were unlike colours for which there are recognized terms.
They commenced to be seen when the clouds began to pass between
the sun and ourselves, and were not seen previously. The changes
from one hue to another had obvious connection with the varying
densities of the clouds that passed ; which were sometimes thick
and sometimes light. No colours were seen when they moved
overhead, and surrounded us on all sides.

^ The part seen was probably distant 200 or more miles.

CHAP. XVIII. THE SECOND ASCENT OF CHIMBORAZO. 325

At 11 a.m.^ getting into the direct rays of the sun, the heat
became oppressive, and David, exhausted by his flounderings in
the snow, wished to return. ''Impossible, David; it is now or
never." Campafia, a light weight, sank in slightly, and shewed no
signs of fatigue. At 11,30 a.m., we were again facing Guaranda ;
and striking the former route, made as before for the plateau
between the two domes, bending round at lirst to the north, and
subsequently to the east ; avoiding the lowest part of the hollow,
yet occasionally sinking up to the knees. At 1 p.m., when close
to the very highest point, a great clamour and cackling broke out
amongst the men, for the regular sweep of the dome was inter-
rupted by some object. It was the top of our ten-foot pole sticking
out of the snow, with a few tattered fragments of the red flag still
attached.^ Nature had built a wall of ice about six feet long on
the eastern (or windward) side, and the flagstaff stood clear of it
in front, with the frayed remnants of serge stiff frozen, pointing
like Angers to the south-west, registering the direction of the wind
that had prevailed ! ^

During this time the clouds from Cotopaxi had been constantly
approaching, and about mid-day they passed overhead.^ The sun
had become invisible, and temperature had fallen ; and our first
care was to dig a trench to leeward of the flagstaff to obtain pro-
tection, for the wind felt dangerously cold. Shortly after the
barometer was hung up, it read 14*050 inches, with air tempera-
ture 30° Faht., and it continued to fall until 2 p.m., and then,
with the thermometer at 15° Faht., the mercury stood at 14*028
inches, and loive7' it ivould not go}

When the clouds from Cotopaxi first passed overhead, they

1 All except the few scraps shewn in the engraving facing p. 326 had been
blown away by the wind.

2 We arrived on the summit at 1.20 p.m., having occupied four hours and a
quarter over the ascent of the last sixteen hundred feet.

2 They had taken six hours to travel about eighty miles.

4 At 2 p.m., when the Mercurial Barometer (red. to 32° Faht.) was 14-044
inches, the Aneroid E read 13"990 inches.

326 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii.

were still, I think, not less than 5000 feet above us (or 25,000 to
26,000 feet above the sea), and they extended far to the south
before the dust of which they were composed began to fall upon
the summit of Chimborazo. It commenced to settle about ten
minutes after our arrival, and in the course of an hour caused the
snowy summit to look like a ploughed field. It filled our eyes and
nostrils, rendered eating and drinking impossible,^ and at last
reduced us to breathing through handkerchiefs. The brass and
glass of the mercurial barometer, like everything else, became
coated with this all-pervading dust, but the vernier afforded pro-
tection to the portion of the tube which was behind it, and this
protected part remained reasonably bright, while all the rest of
the tube above and below was thickly encrusted. The height of
the barometer on the summit of Chimborazo, on July 3, 1880, was
registered in this manner by a volcanic eruption which occurred
more than sixty miles away !

The surrounding country became obscured as soon as the fall-
ing dust reached our level, and thus our last ascent in Ecuador,
like all the rest, rendered no view from the summit. By 2 o'clock
in the afternoon even the Pointe Veintemilla could not be seen,
and the darkness continued to increase so much that by 2.30 p.m.
we thought it was best to depart. The last thing done, before
leaving, was photographing the top of Chimborazo. The sky was
dark with the clouds of ash, the people shivered under a tempera-
ture of 15° Faht., the wind fluttered everything that could move,
the snow gave a poor foundation for the stand, and the gloom
made focussing uncertain. All the conditions were favourable for
the production of a bad photograph, and the result was just what
might be expected. It is reproduced literally here, without em-
bellishment, an authentic record of a memorable occasion.^

1 My observed temperature on the summit of Chimborazo, on July 3, was 96°"3
Faht. See Appendix F.

2 An 'instantaneous' plate was exposed for one minute, and it was necessary
to keep wiping the lens during the whole of the operation. The engraving shews
the dust commencing to settle among the ripples in the snow.

^^B

CHAP, xviir. THE DESCENT. 327

The surface of the snow had hardened under the increasing
cold, and we slipped along quickly, — Louis first, followed by
David ; then Campana in my charge ; while Jean - Antoine came
last, and acted as sheet-anchor. Though the little Interpreter
tumbled about gloriously, he tugged no more than a good - sized
fish at the end of a line ; and we descended boisterously, cutting
the zigzags, and finding great advantage from sticks which had
been planted to mark the route, in the same manner as upon
Sara-urcu and Carihuairazo. About 4.45 a brief halt was made to
get an observation of the mercurial barometer for the height of the
snow-line (16,700 feet), and then, casting off the rope, we put on
full steam, and arrived at camp at 5.10 p.m.^

By this time the coarser particles of the Volcanic Dust had
fallen below our level, and were settling down into the valley of
the Chimbo (the bottom of which was still 7000 feet beneath us),
causing it to appear as if filled by thick smoke. The finest ones
were still floating in the air like a light fog, and so it continued
until night closed in. The tent was laden with the dust, and a
large quantity had slipped and fallen down its sloping sides. I
collected more than three ounces from the roof, and this was not
the half of what remained upon it. Subsequently, I found that at
the town of Ambato, between 11 and 11.15 a.m., upon a piece of
paper one foot square, spread out to receive it, four ounces were

1 I have felt it unnecessary to say much about the second ascent of Chimborazo,
beyond indicating the direction that was followed. The north-west ridge (that
referred to upon p. 25, and shewn on the left of the engraving facing p. 24) leads
with remarkable directness towards the summit, and its crest or arete is unusually
free from impediments. At the upper end, where it abuts against the Northern
Walls (or, perhaps it should be said, where it issues from them, for I suspect that
this is another lava-stream), one is already 18,900 feet above the sea. and so far as
this point ice-axes are not required. It is then necessary to bear towards the south,
and a certain amount of cutting is obligatory whilst traversing the head of the
Glacier de Stiibel. Crevasses there, though numerous, are easily avoided, and the
steepest angles of the slopes do not exceed 35°. Beyond this, the route joins that
described in Chapter III. Neither upon Jan. 4 nor July 3 were there any open
crevasses in the plateau between the two domes.

328 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii.

collected ; and that at Riobamba, upon paj)er similarly exposed,
about as much fell per square foot as upon Chimborazo.

From these data I have calculated the minimum quantity
which must have been ejected upon this occasion. Drawing two
lines radiating from Cotopaxi, one leading to Riobamba, and the
other to an equal distance west of the fifth camp (within which
limits it is certain that the dust fell), and estimating that from our
cam|) to Ambato only one-eighth of an ounce fell on each square
foot, and that from Ambato to the A^olcano four ounces fell on
each square foot, I find that, at the least, two 7nillions of tons must
have been ejected during this eruption.^ The quantity is under-
estimated in several ways. The amount is ignored that was
carried beyond the limits which have been indicated, though it fell
over many hundreds of square miles. ^ The quantity only is taken
into account which was actually found upon the tent — not that
which had fallen from it, nor that which had still to descend ; and
from Ambato northwards a fall of fifteen minutes only is reckoned,
although it continued to settle for several hours. ^

I have found it interesting to compare the dust deposited upon
Chimborazo with that which fell upon our tent when we were
encamped on the summit of Cotopaxi (see p. 153), which was

^ This amount is equal to a column of solid lava (2*65 spec, grav.) 38 feet square
and 18,600 feet high.

2 And on ships upon the Pacific Ocean.

3 As pure and undeflled Volcanic Dusts can seldom be procured, and are
desiderata with students, I have placed the collections mentioned below in the
hands of Mr. J. R. Gregory, 88 Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square, from whom
samples can be obtained.

1. Dust which fell at Quito (after an aerial voyage of 34 miles) from the great
eruption of Cotopaxi in June, 1877 (see p. 125). 2. Dust which fell on the tent on
Chimborazo (after an aerial voyage of 64 miles) from the eruption of Cotopaxi,
July 3, 1880. 3. Lapilli and dust from the apex of the cone of Cotopaxi (19,500
feet). 4. Granular dust from sheltered places on Cotopaxi (see p. 141). 5. Lapilli
from 15,000 feet on Cotopaxi. 6. Pumice lapilli from Ambato (see p. 94). 7. Fine
dust from the ten-inch bed at Machachl (see p. 104). 8. Fine pumice-dust from the
lowest bed at Machachi (see p. 104).

CHAP. XVIII. DESCRIPTIONS OF VOLCANIC DUSTS. 329

ejected during intermittent discharges of steam, and, presumably,
was torn off by the violence of the blasts. It is reasonable to find
that there is a considerable difference in the weight and dimensions
of the particles of these two dusts. The larger and heavier atoms
naturally settle soonest, and the smaller and lighter ones travel
farthest. Upon several occasions I have endeavoured to count the
number of particles in a grain of the Chimborazo deposit, and have
found that the smaller ones do not weigh so much as 2iTo^Tro" P^^^
of a grain, and that the finer atoms are lighter still. ^

1 Professor Bonney has examined the two dusts microscopically, and has favoured
me with the following descriptions. No. I. {Dust toJiichfell on the tent at the summit
of Cotopaxi, Feb. 18-19, 1880). "The grains range from '02 inch in diameter
downwards, a considerable proportion varying between this and about "01 inch.
They may be thus distinguished :— (A) rock fragments, (B) mineral fragments.
(A). These consist of (a) chips of colourless or nearly colourless glass, sometimes
almost clear, sometimes clouded with ferrite or opacite, and containing microliths
of felspar, &c. — chips, in short, of glassy lavas. (6) rough opaque, or nearly opaque
grains, sometimes translucent at the edges, and including microliths of felspar and
augite ; these, when viewed Avith a dark background, have a scoriaceous exterior,
and are greyish, blackish, or reddish - brown in colour; they are evidently minute
lapilli of an andesitic lava. (B). Among these the folloMing minerals may be recog-
nized : — (a) felspar, showing occasionally plagioclastic twinning ; (6) more rare, augite
and perhaps hypersthene. I notice fragments both of glass and of minerals even
among the finer dust, together with black specks, probably magnetite."

No. II. (Dust ivhich was ejected by Cotopaxi upon July 3, 1880, and fell upon
the tent at the fifth camp on Chimborazo, distant sixty four miles). " The grains
which make up this interesting deposit, as indicated by a glance at the slides with
the unaided eye, are, as might be expected, decidedly smaller than those which
characterise No. I, a very few only attain to a diameter of '01 inch, and this is
barely exceeded. Fragments measuring from -003 to "004 inch are common, and
they vary from this size to the finest dust ; the characteristic of the deposit, so far
as I can ascertain, being the presence of grains ranging from about "001 to 'OOS
inch. They consist, as before, of rock fragments and mineral fragments. Among
the former (A) the rough dark lapilli are rare ; the majority being translucent, and
apparently smooth externally. These are chips of glass, commonly of a pale
brownish colour, in which acicular microliths, probably of felspar, are frequent, with
specks of ferrite. . . (B). The mineral fragments are felspar, as above, with a little
augite, and there is one well-formed hypersthene crystal -01 inch long, in which are
enclosures of iron peroxide, &c., and, I think, minute cavities. Fragments of
felspar and acicular crystallites are rather abundant among the finer dust."

330 TRA VELS AMONGST THE ORE A T ANDES, chap, xviii.

The sole difference between this eruption and others which had
been remarked of Ootopaxi, was, probably, only one of degree. If
the pipe of the Volcano — its channel of communication with the
depths below — had been filled with molten lava, a means of exit
would have been afforded which would have prevented this great
manifestation of energy. The outburst suggested explosion, — a
violent deliverance of confined force ; and I conjecture that the
steam which was constantly welling up, instead of being permitted
to escape freely, or by intermittent discharges, was more effectually
imprisoned than usual [in the manner suggested upon pp. 153-4],
and that thus the temporary quietude was produced which was
noted in the early morning. During this time the subterranean
forces were gathering strength, under constantly-increasing heat,
due to augmented pressure ; at last acquiring power sufficient to
burst through the barrier, and then issued in a blast of inconceiv-
able violence ; rushing in a few seconds from depths with heat
above the fusing-point of iron to cold beneath the freezing-point of
mercury, rending the solid rock through which it passed into
infinitesimal fragments, and driving millions of tons of this im-
palpable powder vertically in the air, twenty thousand feet above
the lip of the crater.

The new readings of the barometer on the summit of Chim-
borazo, agreeing closely with those which were taken upon the
first ascent, gave assurance, whilst still in the country, that there
was no material error in the measurements of atmospheric pressure
which had been made in the interior of Ecuador ; and the altitude
which has been deduced from them for Chimborazo, by nearly
according with that which was obtained from the previous obser-
vations, renders it probable that the accepted height of that
mountain is too great hy about 927 feet}

For a second time we saw the barometer standing nearly as

low as 14 inches, without experiencing what I have ventured to

term the acute symptoms of mountain - sickness ; and, by a con-

1 See Chapter XIX. for some further remarks upon the height of Chimborazo.

CHAP. XVIII. A BAROMETRIC LEVEL. 331

sidBrable improvement in our rate, had the opinion confirmed that
man can become habituated to low pressures. The ascent from
the fifth camp (15,811 feet) to the summit (20,498 feet), excluding
halts, occupied 445 minutes, and was therefore executed at the
rate of 632 feet per hour. The descent, excluding halts, was made
in 145 minutes, or at the rate of 1939 feet per hour, — the mean of
these being 1280 feet per hour ; a speed which, although comparing
unfavourably with the superlative rates quoted upon pp. 31-2, was
a distinct advance upon our first essay.

On the 4th of July we continued the circuit of the mountain
by a high-level route, intending to stop for the night at the
position of the First Camp ; and the march was made in a trifle
over five hours (for most of the way at an elevation of 14,500
to 15,000 feet), without coming across any impediment worth
mention ! The bearing of the First Camp was not known at
starting, and I undertook to lead the caravan by the guidance of
the barometer.

On the 26th of December, at the First Camp on Chimborazo,

the barometer stood at 17*9 inches, and from daily observation of

it I knew the great improbability that atmospheric pressure would

be so much as one-tenth of an inch either higher or lower at the

same spot. I proposed to intersect the Vallon de Carrel, a little

higher than the First Camp, by keeping on a level with a pressure

of 17*8 inches. For this purpose Aneroids were more useful than

the Mercurials, inasmuch as they could be read on horseback while

in movement, without checking the march of the caravan ; and I

trusted to them alone, after having ascertained their Index-errors

by comparison with the Mercurial.^ Sometimes the nature of the

ground drove us a little up or down, and pressure fell or rose as

the case might be ; but at the earliest opportunity the level of

17 '8 inches was resumed, and no other means were employed to

find the desired place.

' It was indispensable to do this, in consequence of the large errors they had
acquired. See How to use the Aneroid Barometer, § 66.

332 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii.

Upon leaving the fifth camp^ we steered away from the
summit for forty minutes, to turn the north-west ridge ; and then
bore round to the S.W., S.S.W., and for a long distance went nearly
due South, below the Glacier de Stlibel — the broadest glacier
upon Ohimborazo. After passing this, solely at the instigation of
the aneroids, I changed the course to S.E. by E., and about 4 p.m.
had the satisfaction of pointing out to my people (through a gap
in the ridge on the north side of the Vallon de Carrel) the place
where we had encamped on the 26th of December.

The part of Chimborazo traversed on this day was barren to
the last degree, covered with beds of sand, extending upwards (as
we had found in the Vallon de Carrel) nearly to the snow, and
downwards farther than could be seen. All fissures and minor
inequalities were entirely effaced.

These sandy slopes and plains are not perceived while crossing
Chimborazo by the ordinary route, or from Guaranda, and they
extend uninterruptedly from a little to the west of Tortorillas right
round the western and north-western sides of the mountain, nearly
to Abraspungo. The portion which at present is called ' The
Great Arenal ' is, in reality, only a small part of them. They
are an important feature which has not hitherto been pointed out,
produced by the same cause as the slope of ash on Cotopaxi [see
pp. 146-8], namely, by the predominance of easterly winds, which
scour the volcanic dusts from the eastern sides of the mountains,
and deposit them on the leeward or western ones ; and they form
a most convenient highway, although sterile, infinitely more
agreeable to travel over than the established route, through
Chuquipoquio.

^ We scoured the surroundings before departure, and discovered sixteen smaU
beetles of six species, three of which {Bembidium Andintmi, Bates, Colpodes oreas,
Bates, and ErwrMnoides distinctus, Olliff) were obtained only at this locality. The
others {Helicorrhynchus vulsus, Olliff, Naupactus parvicollis, Olliff, and 3facrops
coelorum, Olliff) had previously been found at similar altitudes upon Pichincha
and Cayambe. Descriptions of these beetles are given in the Supplementary
Appendix.

CHAP. XVIII. FLORA OF CHIMBORAZO. 333

The stream was dried up in the Vallon de Carrel, and we con-
tinued onward towards Tortorillas until water was found, and
made our Sixth Camp (13,353 feet) some distance short of the
tambo, at the mouth of the Vallon de Debris, in a little nook,
concealed from the view of persons crossing the Great Arenal.
The 5th of July was occupied in completing collections ^ and other

^ I give here a complete list of our Botanical gatherings upon Chimborazo,
exclusive of species which were obtained lower than 14,000 feet. — Lichens. Par-
inelia, near centrifuga, south side (14^15,000 feet) ; Umbilicaria sp. ? north - west
side (15,800) ; Neuropogon melaxanthus, Nyl., second camp (16,660) ; Alectoria
divergens, Ach., second camp (16,660) ; A. ochroleuca, Nyl., second camp (16,660) ;
Lecidea geographica, Fr. var., second camp (16,660); Stereocaulon sp.? second
camp (16,660) ; Oyrophora or perhaps Endocarpon sp. ? third camp (17,285) ;
Lecanora (section Squamaria), second camp (16,660) ; Lecanora, section Placodium,
second camp (16,660) ; and L. sicbfusca, L., foot of the Southern Walls (18,400).
Mosses. Andrecea striata, Mitt. ; Brachymenhmi fusiferura, Jaeg. ; Grimmia con-
sobrina, Kunze ; G. apocarpa, Hedw. ? ; G. fusco-lutea, Hook. ; and Mielichhoferia
lojigiseta, CM., all from the immediate vicinity of the second camp (16,550-16,750),
Fern. Fohjpodium pycnolepis, Kze., in Vallon de Carrel (14,900). Grasses. Festiica
mollis, Kth., east side, above Chuquipoquio (14,000); and Poa sp.? south side
(15,000-15,500). Flowering plants. Labiatae : — Stachys repens, M. & G., above
Chuquipoquio (14,000). Scrophulariacefe : — Bartsia gracilis, Benth., north-east side
(13-14,000) ; Calceolaria rosmarini folia, Lam., above Chuquipoquio (14,000) ; Castil-
leja fissi folia, L., south side (14,000-15,000). Gentianaceae : — Gentiana cerastioides,
H.B.K., north side (13,000-14,000); G. cernua, H. & B., south side (14,000-16,000);
G. rupicola, H.B.K., south side (15,500-16,300); G. sedifolia, H.B.K., south side
(15,500-16.000); and Halenia gracilis, Griseb., north-east side (13,000-14,000).
Ericaceae: — Vaccinium epacridi folium, Benth., north side (13,000-14,000). Com-
positie : — AcJiyrophorus Quitensis, Sz. Bip., south side (15,500-16,300); JBaccliaris
(Loricaria) ferrugbiea, Pers., Vallon de Carrel (14,000-15,000) ; Bideiis humilis,
H.B.K., south side (13,000-16,500); Chuquiragaa insignis, H, & B., south side
(14,000-15,000); Culcitium nivale, H.B.K., near second camp (15,500-16,300);
C. reflexum., Kth., Vallon de Carrel (14,000-15,000); and Werneria sp. ?
south side (14,000-15,000). Valerianese: — Phyllactis latifolia. Spruce, north side
(13,000-14,000) ; P. inconspicua, Wedd. ? second camp (16,600) ; Valeriana ahjssi-
folia, Kth., Vallon de Carrel (14,000-15,000) ; T". microphyllce aff., south side
(13,000-14,000); Valeriana sp.? south side (15,500-16,500). Ribe siaceae : — i?i&es
glandidosum, R. & P., north-east side (14,000). Leguminosae : — Astragalus gemini-
jlorus, H. & B., south side (14,000-15,000) ; Lupluus humifusics, Benth., north-east
side (13,000-14,000); Lupinus sp. ? (13,000-14,000); Lupimcs sp. ? south side

334 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xviii.

matters which had been cut short in January, and in the afternoon
we transferred ourselves to Camp 7. On the next day the bag-
gage was despatched to Riobamba under the care of Louis ; whilst
I with Jean-Antoine and Campana resumed the measurement on
the High Road for ' a scale for Chimborazo ' ; carrying it up to the
Tambo of Chuquipoquio, and thus completing our work amongst
the Great Andes of the Equator.

(14,000-15,000); and Vicia seiifolia, H.B.K., near Chuquipoquio (12,000-14,000).
Geraniaceae : — Geranium diffusum, H.B.K., Vallon de Carrel (16,000). Malvaceae : —
Malvastrum phyllanthos, Asa Gray, south side (14,000-16,500). Caryophyllaceae : —
Cerastium glutinosum, Kth., south and north-east sides (13,000-14,000) ; Cerastium
sp.? south side (13,000-14,000); Siellaria leptopeiala, Benth., near second camp
(15,500-16,000). Cruciferae : — Draba grayidiflora, Hook. & Am., fourth camp
(14,360); D. obovata, Benth., near second camp, etc. (15,500-16,660); Draba sp. l^
south side (14,000-15,000) ; Draba sp. ? near second camp (15,500-16,000). Ranun-
culaceae : — Ranunculus Peruvianus, Pers., north side (13,000-14,000) ; R. 2>rcemorsus,
Kth., near second camp, etc. (15,500-16,500).

Humboldt says in the pamphlet entitled Notice de deiix tentatives d^ascension
du Chimborazo, dated Berlin, Sept. 1836 (pub. at Paris in 1838), " Les derniers
vegdtaux cryptogames que je recueillis furent le lecidea atrovireyis {licheti geographi-
cus, Web.) et une nouvelle espece de gyrophora d'Acharius {gyrophora rugosa), a
peu pres a 2820 toises d'altitude. La derniere mousse, le grimmia longirostris
croissait a 400 toises plus bas." Reckoning the toise at 6-3945 English feet, it
appears that his highest Lichens came from 18,032, and the Moss from 15,475 feet.

For the Zoological results, the reader is referred to the Supplementary Appendix.
The last thing obtained on Chimborazo (near Tortorillas) was the Rylodes with which
my name is associated. This was another of the species that recurred at similar
altitudes. It had previously been captured upon Pichincha, Cotocachi, and Altar.

A PHASMA FROM LA DORMIDA, CAYAMBE.

CHAPTER XIX.

UPON SOME RESULTS OF THE JOURN^EY.

In" a very short time it was found that there were things to be
unlearned as well as discovered in Ecuador. It had been supposed
that the slopes of Chimborazo led continuously, without a break,
down to the flat land bordering the shores of the Pacific [see p. 12].
I saw that this was not the case, and that an important range
of mountains intervened between it and the Ocean. Next we
ascertained that Chimborazo streamed with glaciers, although high
authorities state that it has none ; and in course of time it became
apparent that the two '"^parallel Cordilleras," which according to
geographers are the great feature of the country, do not exist.

The axis of the Andes of Ecuador, part of the backbone of
South America, runs nearly north and south ; and towards the
western edge of the main chain there is a certain sequence of peaks
more or less in a line with each other. ^ On the east of these
summits there is a succession of basins,'^ of different dimensions

^ See page 210, and my Route Map.

2 See pages 85-6, 97, 105, 158-9, 167, 265, etc.

336 TRAVELS A3fONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

and at various elevations, and the nearest mountains on the eastern
side occur at irregular distances. There is no such thing as one
great valley in the interior of Ecuador. The mountains Pasochoa
and Euminahui are the only two which lie i^arallel to the others
on the western side.^

The main chain of the Andes was created by upheaval at some
remote date, but no one can say when this movement occurred, or
whether it was an affair of a year or was spread over thousands of
years. All of the Great Andes of the Equator rise out of, or upon
and above the main chain. ^ With the excej)tion of Sara-urcu,
they are all mountains of volcanic origin,^ although they may
not all have been active volcanoes. There will possibly be, for
a long time to come, a diversity of opinions as to the manner
of their formation. It seems to me probable that there were
never many of these volcanoes in activity at any one moment.
Some that are now extinct have evidently been alive ; while
others, like Pichincha and Tunguragua, are either dormant or are
not perpetually in eruption. Cotopaxi and Sangai alone are in
a state of constant activity, and these two mountains seem to
be increasing their elevation.''

* The Pacific Range of Ecuador and the range running south from Chimborazo as
far as the Rio Chanchan are, however, parallel to each other ; and the course of the
River Chimbo, from Guaranda to Chimbo, runs through a valley, speaking properly.
I have already endeavoured to make it clear that this Pacific Range lies outside
the main chain of the Andes. It has nothing to do with the " two parallel
Cordilleras."

2 The elevation of the range in general, in Ecuador, although considerable, is not
so great as it is farther to the south ; and a railway might be carried there across the
chain at a lower level than the Trans -Andean line which is at present being con-
structed to connect Buenos Ayres with Valparaiso.

3 In Ecuador, the rocks that were previously at the surface are now almost
entirely buried under lavas or volcanic-dusts, which have welled out of fissures or
have been violently ejected.

4 The excellent observers M. de la Condamine, and the Doctors Reiss & Stiibel
measured Cotopaxi and Sangai at an interval of 130 years. The former found the
height of Cotopaxi was 18,865 feet, and Sangai 17,139 feet. The latter found the
heights were 19,498 and 17,464 feet respectively.

u u

I I

•- a

z z

O 3

< (0

CHAP. XIX. CONFIGURATION OF THE ANDES OF ECUADOR. 337

Of the extinct Volcanoes, Oayambe, Antisana and Chimborazo
are the most important. There are lava-streams upon the flanks
of" all three mountains/ and I cannot doubt that they had craters
of considerable size, though none can now be seen. The space at
the summit of Antisana is sufficiently large to admit of one as
great as that of Cotopaxi, and I think it may be assumed that
under the snowy domes which now form the summits of Chim-
borazo there are rocky peaks which were formerly two of the
highest points around the rim of a crater.

There are no records of eruptions of Chimborazo.'^ It must
have been an extinct volcano for many ages. The complete burial
of its crater, the thickness of the ice-cap at its summit and large
size of its glaciers, the ruin and erosion of its lava-streams, and the
height vegetation has attained upon its flanks are all indications
that its activity ceased at a remote period. It is less regularly
conical than Cotopaxi, Sangai or Tunguragua, and towards its
summits has sheer cliffs,^ that I have termed the Northern and
Southern Walls, which it seems to me can only have been formed
either by violent upheaval or by explosive blowing away of por-
tions of the exterior of the cone. The Southern Walls are shewn
in the illustrations facing pages 24, 64 and 76, and, more in detail,
in the accompanying plate. They are in two series, B, B, and D, D.

1 In the matter of lava-streams I differ from Boussingault, who says that none
can be seen anywhere among the Volcanoes of Tropical America. "La masse du
Chimborazo est formee par I'accumulation de debris trachytiques, amonceles sans
aucun ordre. Ces fragmens trachytiques, d'un volume souvent enorme, ont ete
souleves a I'etat solide ; leurs angles sont toujours tranchans ; rien n'indique qu'il y
ait en fusion ou meme un simple etat de mollesse. Nulle part^ dans aucune des
volcans de Veqaateur, on n^ observe rien qui puisse faire presumer une coulee de laves^
— Annates de Chimie et de Physique, tome Iviii, 2me serie, p. 175, Paris, 1835.

1 find this difficult to comprehend, as Boussingault visited Cotopaxi and the
Hacienda of Antisana. See pages 138, 145, 187 and 189.

2 "Chimborazo, Volcan (on ignore I'epoque de son eruption)."— La Condamine
in Hist, de VAcad. Royale des Sciences (annee 1746), Paris, 1751, pp. 650-1.

3 There is some equally sheer cliff on the northern side of Cotopaxi, near the
summit.

338 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

The latter stand in advance of the higher ones, and are passable
at F (''the breach^), or may be skirted at the base. The upper
cliffs B, B are unapproachable, on account of being crowned by
glacier, which falls at intervals in tremendous avalanches, shaving
the face of the rock. This ice -section (E, E), at the top of the
cliffs, shews the thickness of the glacier on the summit of
Chimborazo.

The faces of these precipices exhibit a large number of parallel
bands (nearly horizontal in the lower series and distorted in the
upper one) which are highly coloured, and upon the rare occasions
that the cliffs are lighted by the sun they present a gay and
attractive appearance. The highest strata of the upper series are
black, ^ alternating with grey bands ; warm grey, passing into strong
red ; black, changing into thin grey and yellow strata ; warm grey
again, passing into deep red; and, at the base, warm grey, alternat-
ing with thin strata of many colours, too numerous to recapitulate.
The lower series commences at the top with a stratum of reddish -
grey colour for about half the whole depth of the cliff ; then a
stratum of ashy grey, followed by a strong black band ; Indian red,
succeeded by more black strata ; and terminating at the base with
a bed about 200 feet thick, of strongly reddish hue.

With the exception of the lowest rocks of the lower series, it is
impossible to collect examples of these strata in situ, as the cliffs
are well-nigh vertical ; but specimens from all of the beds in the
upper series (knocked off by the descent of the ice-avalanches) can
be obtained on the surface of the Glacier de Debris, and they are
found to be entirely volcanic products — principally andesitic lavas. "^
The colouring is superficial, the result of weathering, or decom-
position. The natural colours of these rocks range from steel and
iron-greys to purplish -black.

A great section of a somewhat similar nature was produced on

1 It is not unlikely that this is the rock we obtained at 19,400 feet upon the
first ascent. See pp. 67-8.

2 Amongst these fragments on the glacier I found native sulphur.

CHAP. XIX. POSITIONS OF THE GREAT ANDES. 339

the Island of Krakatoa by the blowing away of a portion of the
cone during the convulsions which occurred in August, 1883 ; ^ and
although it cannot be positively affirmed that the Southern Walls of
Chimborazo have been fashioned in this way, one may go so far as to
suggest that that which is known to have happened in the Straits
of Sunda may also have occurred on the coast of the Pacific.

The relative situations of the Great Andes of the Equator will
be seen by reference to the Route Map, where, for the first time,
they are placed in the positions that they actually occupy. The
Altitudes which were determined on my journey are arranged
in a tabular form in Appendix A, in chronological order. The
height of Chimborazo will probably possess more interest than
any other for the majority of my readers. I give below the data
which have been used in its computation, and a few remarks upon
the previous determinations of its altitude by others. My original
readings are given here {7iot reduced to. 32° Faht.), and they were
not taken until the attached thermometer had fallen to the tem-
perature of the air. The Guayaquil barometer, it should be added,
was 30 feet above the level of the sea.

Da- Place. Barome.e. K^f '" ^fiCiZ..

Jan. 4, 1880, 5.15 p.m. Summit of Chimborazo No. 558 14-100 21° Faht.

,, 6 p.m. Guayaquil . . .No. 554 29-893 85°

Deduced altitude above the level of the sea, 20,545 feet.

July 3, „ 1.40 p.m. Summit of Chimborazo No. 558 14-050 20° „

„ 2 p.m. Summit of Chimborazo . No. 558 14-028 15°

,, Meanof 11a.m. &6p.m. Guayaquil No. 554 30-021 75° ,,

Deduced altitude above the level of the sea, 20,461 feet.

Besides these two results (20,545 feet from the observations
made on Jan. 4, and 20,461 feet from the 2 p.m. observations
on July 3), Mr. Ellis has obtained a third one (20,489 feet) by

^ A representation of this forms Plate 25 of the Album accompanying the
interesting work Krakatau, by R. D. M. Verbeek, Brussels, 1885-6 ; and it has been
reproduced in the Report of the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society, Lond.
1888, PI. II.

34G TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

a employing the mean of the observations at 1.40 and 2 p.m.

I The altitude I adopt is the mean of his three results,

i! namely 20,498 feet.

ji The height, however, which at the present time is

i'i accepted and quoted for Chimborazo is 21,425 feet. This

i i altitude was deduced by J. Oltmanns (Professor of Astro-

I i nomy at Berlin) from the observations of Alex, von

i I Humboldt, who, after determining barometrically the ele-

i i vation of Kiobamba above tlie level of the sea, measured

i i a base 1702 metres long upon the outskirts of the town,

i i and at one end of this base observed the angle of eleva-

; i tion of the apparent summit of the mountain. This

i '; measurement is referred to in Humboldt^s Reciieil cVObser-

\ \ vations Astronomiqiies, etc., 4to, Paris, 1810, vol. 1, pp.

i i Ixxii-lxxiv of the Introduction, and the annexed diagram

I i is projected from the data given in that work.^ The

I ; line drawn from A to B represents his base, and a the

; I position of the summit of Chimborazo. This figure shews

i i more clearly than words the unsatisfactory nature of the

i i data from which Prof. Oltmanns calculated the altitude.

I i Humboldt himself appeared to think it likely that

i i there was some error in his observations ; and he did

I i so, doubtless, on account of the large difference that there

i i was between the altitude which was deduced from his

I i work and that which was obtained by La Condamine, who

; j employed similar methods. The height of Chimborazo as

i i determined by La Condamine was 3220 toises (— 20,592

i feet). Juan and Ulloa (the Spanish officers who were

I i associated with the French Academicians) in their book

i I entitled Ohservaciones Astronomicas y Phisicas liechas de

\ i orden de S. Mag. en los Reynos del Peru, 4to, Madrid,

! j ^ The length of the base A B is stated to have been 1702"49 metres ;

i i the angle A B a, 98° 34' 50" ; the angle a A B, 78° 16' 20" ; and the angle

j ______-Jb of elevation of the summit, seen from A, 6° 41' 26". This figure should be

compared with fig. 6, Plate 1, in the Eecueil d'' Observations Astronomiqices.

CHAP. XIX. HUMBOLDT'S TRIANGLE. 341

1748, p. 131, give 3380 toises (=21,615 feet) as the height of
Chimborazo. The French and Spanish observers, I believe, used
the same data, and it is certain that either one or the other, or
both, must have been in error in their calculations.^

The passage is given in the footnote in which Humboldt
expresses a certain amount of doubt as to his own result.^ In
the various possible causes of error which he therein mentions,
he omits to take into account : — 1. The chance of error in the
height of his base at Kiobamba, and, 2. that neither the height
nor the distance of a snowy dome can be determined with
certainty unless a signal is placed upon it. The elevation he
assigned to Eiobamba was 9485 feet, which is 305 feet higher
than the determination of Messrs. Eeiss and Stiibel, and 446
feet higher than my own.' It seems to me possible that there

1 Although the height of Chimborazo deduced by Ulloa more nearly corresponded
than La Condamine's with that obtained by Humboldt, the latter did not seem to
put much confidence in it ; for towards the end of his Recueil (V Observations Astro-
nomiques (at p. 93 of the section entitled ^"^ Nivellement harometrique) there is the
following amusing passage. " Lorsqu' Ulloa descendit dans les mines de Guanaxuato,
il deduisit d'une mesure harometrique, que la mine de Valenciana avoit une pro-
foudeur de 1000 vares (838 metres). L'inspecteur de la mine assura, et avec raison,
que cette evaluation etoit du double trop forte ; le geometre pretendit, de son cote,
que son calcul harometrique ne laissoit pas de doute. II est probable que le baro-
metre du savant voyageur s'etoit derange ... On concoit aisement que, depuis cette
epoque, les barometres ne jouissent pas d'un grand credit aupres du mineurs du
Mexique."

* " Je n'ai pu, jusqu'a ce jour (1810), decouvrir aucune cause d'erreur dans
ma mesure du Chimborazo. Pour expliquer une difference de 100 toises de hauteur,
il f audroit supposer ou que les angles des stations avec la cime a B A et a A B f ussent
faux de 10'*9, ou qu'on se fut trompe dans la mesure de la base de 91 metres, ou que
Tangle de hauteur pris en A fut trop grand de 21' 58". . . Je desire ardemment
que, dans un pays ou les lumieres font des progres si rapides, des hommes instruits
repetent mes operations sur le plateau de Tapia, pour qu'il ne reste aucun doute
sur la veritable hauteur de la cime la plus elevee des Cordilleres." — Recueil d? Ohs.
Astron.^ vol. 1, p. Ixxiv, Inirod.

3 The Ecuadorian altitudes which were deduced from the barometric observations
of Humboldt are almost always higher (sometimes considerably higher) than those ob-
tained from the barometric observations by Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel, and by myself.

342 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

was a considerable initial error in the determination of the height
of his base ; and from simple inspection of the figure upon p. 340
it will be apparent that a very slight mistake in the identification
of the true summit, at either of his stations A, B, would have
produced a marked effect upon the distance of a from A B, and
a serious error in the deduced value of the angle of elevation,
which was calculated from the distance.

Humboldt's wish that his observations might be repeated has
been fulfilled by his countrymen Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel. In
their Alturas, which were printed at Quito in 1873, the height
of Ohimborazo is stated to be (according to Dr. Reiss) 20,703
feet. By a private communication I know that these travellers
adopted for this measurement similar methods to those which
were employed by La Condamine and Humboldt.

There are therefore five diiferent determinations of the height
of Ohimborazo, namely : —

La Condamine

. 20,592 feet

Juan and Ulloa .

. 21,615 ,,

Humboldt .

. 21,425 ,,

Keiss and Stiibel .

. 20,703 „

Whymper .

. 20,498 ,.

The first four of these were obtained by similar methods,
and the fifth is derived from three observations of the mercurial
barometer upon the summit of the mountain.

The order in which the Great Andes of the Equator should
be placed {so far as I am acquainted with tliemi) will be seen in
the accompanying table. Several others, which are not included,
should perhaps come before Pichincha. There was no opportunity
of measuring the mountains of Llanganati [see pp. 97, 110], or the
highest points in the range to the south of Ohimborazo. Some
of the loftiest peaks in the former group seemed to me to rise
well above 16,000 feet, and the latter were not much inferior in
elevation, although destitute of snow.

CHAP. XIX.

RANK OF THE GREAT ANDES.

343

Name of Mountain.

Academicians.

Reiss & Stubel.

Whymper.

Toises.

Feet.

Metres.

Feet.

Metres.

Feet.

1. Chimborazo .

3220

20,592

6310

30,703

6247

20,498

2. Cotopaxi

2950

18,865

5943

19,498

5978

19,613

3. Antisana

3020 •

19,313

5756

18,885

5893

19,335

4. Cayambe

3030

19,377

5840

19,161

5848

19,186

5. Altar .

2730

17,458

5404

17,730

...

6. Sangai

2680

17,139

5323

17,464

7, Illiniza

2717

17,375

5305

17,405

...

8. Tunguragua.

2620

16,755

5087

16,690

...

9. Carihuairazo

2450

15,668

5106

16,752

5034

16,515^

10. Sincholagua .

2570

16,435

4988

16,365

...

11. Cotocachi

2570

16,435

4966

16,293

4968

16,301

12. Giiagna-Pichincha .

...

4787

15,706

4851

15,918

Rucu-Pichincha

2430

15,540

4737

15,542

13. Corazon

2470

15,796

4816

15,801

4838

15,871

14. Rumifiahui .

...

4757

15,607

15. Sara-urcu

...

. ...

4800

15,749

4725

15,502

1 Height of the middle peak of Carihuairazo.

The determinations of the Academicians are quoted from Histoire de VAcademie Royale des
Sciences (annee 1746), Paris, 1751, pp. 650-651 ; and those of Messrs. Reiss and Stubel are taken from
their Alturas tomadas en la Repuhlica del Ecuador, Quito, 1873.

The heights that are quoted for these mountains, as well as the
other altitudes which are given in Appendix A, depend exclusively
upon observations of Mercurial Barometers. The two '^Fortin's^
which were used in the interior [see p. 33] were preserved intact
to the end of the journey. The precautions that were taken to
ensure their safety which have been mentioned upon pp. 54-5
would have been of little avail if they had not been supplemented
by unceasing care on the part of Jean - Antoine Carrel, who took
charge of them during the whole of the time we were amongst the
mountains. When travelling over roads, or lower slopes where
porterage could be obtained, he carried his ' babies ' and nothing
besides. Above the snow-line he was always encumbered with
one, and sometimes with both of them, in addition to the matters
which it was his proper business to transport ; and the fact that

344

TRAVELS A3I0NOST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

he was always laden with 12 J or 25 lbs. additional weight must

be taken into account if com-
parisons are instituted with his
rates. The conservation of these
instruments occupied the first
place in the thoughts of every
one during the whole of the time
we were in the interior, as they
were the Standards upon which
everything depended.

The comparisons of the Ane-
roid Barometers which were made
against the Mercurials whilst in the
field are given in Appendix C ;
but the account of the subsequent
investigations into the behaviour
of Aneroids in general extends to
too great length to be included in
this volume, and is rendered in the
pamphlet Hoiu to use the Aneroid
Barometer}

JEAN-ANTOINE AND THE BABIES.

1 The following is a recapitulation of the principal points which have come out
in the course of this enquiry.

1. All aneroids lose upon the mercurial barometer when submitted to diminished
pressure. When diminished pressure is maintained continuously, the loss commonly
continues to augment during several weeks, and sometimes grows to a very import-
ant amount. The most important part of any loss that will occur will take place
in the first week. The loss which takes place in the first week is greater than in
any subsequent one. A considerable part of the loss which takes place in the first
week occurs in the first day. The loss may be traced in a single hour, and in
successive hours upon aneroids with expanded scales. The amount of the loss
which occurs is different in different instruments. The amount of the loss in any
aneroid depends (a) upon the duration of time it may experience diminished press-
ure, and (&) upon the extent of the reduction in pressure.

2. When pressure is restored, all aneroids recover a portion of the loss which has
previously occurred; and some, in course of recovery, gain more than they have

cnAP. XIX.

TEiMPERATURES ON SUMMITS.

345

In Appendix E. a few remarks are made upon Temperatures in
Ecuador, and I refer here only to those which were experienced on
Summits. If there had been a constant diminution of 1° Faht. for
every 300 feet of ascent from the level of the sea, temperatures at
the tops even of the lowest of the peaks we ascended would always

Date.

Mountain.

Height in
Feet.

Temperature
on Summit.

Temperature at
Guayaquil.

1880

Jan. 4(5.15p.m) .

Chimborazo

20,498

Faht.
2V

Faht.
85° ( 6 p.m.)

Feb. 2(1.15 „ ) . .

Corazon

15,871

37° -43°

79° (11 a.m.)

„ 18 (6.20 a.m.) . .

Cotopaxi

19,613

21°

82° ( ,. )

Mar. 10 (10-11.40 a.m.)

Antisana

19,335

44° -60°

80° ( ., )

„ 23 (11.15 a.m.)

Pichincha .

15,918

46°

80° ( ., )

April 4(10.45-11 a.m.)

Cayambe

19,186

32° -41°

79° ( ., )

„ 17 (1.30-2.40 p.m.)

Sara-urcu .

15,502

43°-5-55°

80° ( ,. )

,, 24 (12 noon) .

Cotocachi

16,301

36^

81° ( ,. )

June 29 (11-11.15 a.m.)

Carihuairazo

16,515

38° -42°

74° ( .. )

July 3 (1.40-2 p.m.) .

Chimborazo

20,498

15° -20°

74° ( ., )

have been found well below the freezing-point. The above Table
of Temperatures, ^in the shade/ shews those which were actually
experienced.

previously lost. Minus index-errors are sometimes lessened, and plus index-errors
are sometimes increased. The recovery is gradual, and commonly extends over a
greater length of time than the period during which diminished pressure has been
experienced. In aneroids which have been kept at diminished pressures for a con-
siderable space of time [a week or upwards] the most important part of the amount
that will be recovered will be regained in the first week. The greater part of the
recovery of the first week is usually accomplished in the first day. The recovery in
the first hour is almost always larger than that in any subsequent hour.

3. The errors which will probably be exhibited by aneroids during natural varia-
tions of pressure may be learned approximately b}' submitting them to artificially-
produced variations of pressure ; but the one-hour test which has heretofore been
commonly applied for 'verification ' is of little value except for determining errors
of graduation, and the errors which will be exhibited at similar pressures in a aimilar
length of time.

4. Comparisons of travellers' aneroids against the mercurial barometer at natural
pressure, upon return to the level of the sea, after prolonged journeys in elevated
regions, have not the value which is at present assigned to them.

5. Large reductions will have to be made in the heights of many positions which
have been determined by aneroids.

2 Y

346 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

In all cases they were higher than might have been expected.
The excess is most marked in the three mountains which are
situated farthest to the East, namely, Sara-urcu, Cayambe and
Antisana ; and this, it seems to me, can only be accounted for
by supposing that the warm currents borne from the heated
Amazonian basin, by the nearly constant easterly winds, are
deflected rather abruptly upwards from their natural level, on
approaching these mountain-barriers.

Upon a number of occasions, abrupt transitions of tempera-
ture occurred at our high camps, or whilst ascending still higher.
Equally rapid changes are, however, unknown on the lower ground,
and it is therefore obvious that the amount of ascent equivalent
to a fall of 1° Faht. would have been found very variable if a
number of simultaneous observations of temperature had been made
at spots no great distance apart, placed on different levels.^

The Sn"OW-line. — Those who are most conversant with snow-
mountains generally speak with hesitation upon this subject. The
difficulty consists in determining what ' the snow-line ' really is,
or should be considered. If it should be the very lowest point at
which any large masses of snow are found permanently, many
mountains would have to be classed as entering the snow -line
which are not generally admitted to be within it. The quantity

1 Thus, on July 3, 1880, at 5 p.m., on the north-western side of Chimborazo, at
an elevation of 16,700 feet, temperature in the shade was 26°-5 Faht. At the same
time, at Riobamba (9039 feet) it was 50° Faht. This gives a fall of 1° Faht. for
every 326 feet of elevation.

On July 3, 1880, at 2 p.m., on the Summit of Chimborazo (20,498 feet), tempera-
ture was 15° Faht. On the same day, at 2.30 p.m., at Riobamba, it was 54°-72 Faht.
(11° R.). This gives a fall of 1° Faht. for every 288 feet.

On this day (July 3, 1880), upon leaving camp (15,811 feet), at 5.15 a.m., tem-
perature was 30° Faht. By 8.45 a.m. (at 18,900 feet), temperature in the shade
had risen to 46° Faht. The sun had not at that time struck the western side of the
mountain. Two hours later, when in the direct rays of the sun, the heat felt oppress-
ive ; and in aflother two hours there was a fall of at least 35° Faht. (from 50° to 15°).
This abrupt drop was caused by the clouds of Volcanic Dust intercepting the rays
of, and absorbing the heat radiated from the sun !

CHAP. XIX. THE SNOW -LINE. 347

that should be found permanently upon any mountain to entitle
it to be considered within the snow -line cannot be determined,
and I see little utility in retaining a phrase which is incapable of
definition, and is interpreted so variously. The following informa-
tion is given from personal observation.

Range south of Chimborazo (15-16,000 feet). No permanent snow.

Chimborazo (20,498 feet). In January, little snow below 16,600 feet
on the south side, but at that time it extended nearly one thousand feet
lower on the E. and N. sides. In June -July there was deep snow as low
as 15,600 feet on all these sides. At the same time, there was little snow
below 16,700 feet upon the W. side.

Carihuairazo (16,515 feet). Very little snow below 15,000 feet in
January, and much in June -July as low as 14,300 feet.

CoRAZON (15,871 feet). Much snow fell almost daily upon this mount-
ain down to 14,500 feet, but there were no permanent snow -beds on the E.
side, although there were some upon the W. side.

Atacatzo (14,892 feet). No permanent snow.

PiCHiNCHA (15,918 feet). The snow-beds were quite trifling in extent.

CoTOCACHi (16,301 feet). Permanent snow, in large beds, as low as
14,500 feet.

Imbabura (15,033 feet). No permanent snow.

Cayambe (19,186 feet). Scarcely any snow below 16,000 feet on the
west side. Covered with snow at 15,000 feet on the eastern side.

Sara-urcu (15,502 feet). Snow fell daily upon this mountain lower
than 14,000 feet, and was remaining permanently at about that elevation.

Antisana (19,335 feet). Permanently covered with snow at 16,000
feet on the western side. I am not able to speak about the eastern side.

SiNCHOLAGUA (16,365 feet). Large beds of permanent snow as low as
15,300 feet.

RuMiNAHUi (15,607 feet). There was a small amount of permanent
snow on the E., and none on the W. side.

CoTOPAXi (19,613 feet). Snow fell frequently on Cotopaxi in February
quite one thousand feet lower than it fell upon Chimborazo in January. It
was remaining permanently on the western side at about 15,500 feet.

Llanganati group. Much snow below 16,000 feet.

Altar (17,730 feet). Many large snow-beds below 14,000 feet.

From examination of the above list, it will be seen that snow
is in greater abundance upon the more easterly of the Great Andes

348 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

of the Equator than upon the western ones ; and is commonly
found at lower levels upon the eastern than upon the western
sides of the same mountains.

Previous travellers have said little or nothing about the
Glaciers of Ecuador, — in some cases, it may be, because they
were unable to recognize glaciers when they saw them ; or, in
others, through not actually having seen any, owing to the preva-
lence of bad weather. Humboldt, in the passage that is given
in the foot-note/ says that he did not see in the Tropics anything
resembling the Glaciers of Switzerland ; and Boussingault states
that the only glacier he saw in Tropical America was upon the
mountain Tunguragua. I have been somewhat exercised to
account for these statements ; and, from certain points of view,
I still find them quite incomprehensible.^

Glaciers of large dimensions exist upon the Andes of the

1 " Je n'ai rien vu sous les tropiques, ni a Quito, ni au Mexique, qui ressemhle
aux glaciers de la Suisse. J'avais pense 1° que des causes meteorologiques s'oppo-
saient au changenient des neves ou glaciers par I'absorption de I'eau qui penetre et
cimente les grains incoherents de gresil et les cristaux de neige ; 2° que les coulees de
neige, source primitive de tout glacier, n'avaient pas lieu, lors meme que la forme et
la pente des vallees pouvaient favoriser leur descente, a cause du manque de volume
et de poids de la neige surincomhante. * * * M, Boussingault, que j'ai consulte
sur I'existence des petits amas de neige et de gresil que les Indiens de Calpi m'avaient
dit se trouver converts de sables, bien au-dessous de la limite actuelle des neiges du
Chimborazo, m'ecrit : ' Je ne sais rien des neiges souterraines du Chimborazo, et je
doute fort de leur existence ; mais au volcan de Tungurahua, nous avons rencontre,
le colonel Hall et moi, a la hauteur de la ville de Quito (done a pen pres a 1500 toises
de hauteur absolue) une masse enorme de neige endurcie, un veritable glacier comma
ceux de la Suisse. C'est le seul glacier que j'aie vu en Amerique entre les tro-
piques.' '* — Asie Centrale, par A. de Humboldt, vol. iii. pp. 264-266.

The above passage quoted from Asie Centrale (published in 1843) does not appear
to harmonise with the following extract quoted from an article contributed by Bous-
singault to the Annales de Chimie et de Physique, published in 1835. " Je voulais
contempler a mon aise, rassasier pour ainsi dire ma vue de ces glaciers majestueux
qui m'avaient procure si souvent les emotions de la science, et auxquels je devais
bientot dire un eternel adieu" (p. 151). Boussingault makes frequent reference to
the glaciers in subsequent pages of the same article.

2 See pp. 24, 32, and 77.

CHAP. xrx. THE GLACIERS OF ECUADOR. 349

Equator. They attain their greatest size upon Antisana, Cayambe,
and Chimborazo, and there are considerable ones upon Altar,
Carihuairazo, Cotocachi, Illiniza, Sara-urcu, and Sincholagua/ The
glaciers upon Antisana were thicker and the crevasses in them
were larger than any we saw elsewhere. Upon Cayambe I counted
twelve/ flowing from the central reservoir, all of which, according
to the prevailing custom, might have had names bestowed upon
them ; and when making the circuit of Chimborazo in June-July,
1880, I noted the bearings of and named eleven which were entitled
to be distinguished.^ The one marked A is called Abraspungo ;
the next is dedicated to Mr. R. Spruce, whose admirable work in
Ecuador (which, unfortunately, has permanently disabled him) has
been very inadequately recognized ; and the two following are
named after the Doctors Reiss and Stiibel. These are succeeded
by the Glacier de Thielmann and the Glacier de Debris. The next
one (G), named Tortorillas, is rather ill-defined; H and I are the
Glaciers of Humboldt and Boussingault, and the most eastern one
is consecrated to the assassinated President, Garcia Moreno.

In essential features the Glaciers of Ecuador do not differ from
the Glaciers of the Alps, and in minor points they present little
novelty. One has been noticed upon p. 198. Another was seen
in the middle of the Glacier de Debris, namely, a moulin^ in which
the water flowed upwards instead of downwards ; and not far from
this I came upon a ' glacier-table,^ a slab of rock three or four feet
in diameter, which had attained an unusual height upon a slender

1 There is also some very obscured glacier upon Cotopaxi. My glimpses of
Quilindana and Tunguragua were too slight to permit me to speak with certainty,
but I believe that there are also glaciers upon those mountains.

2 There are no doubt others upon Cayambe. I did not see its north and north-
east sides.

^ Of the northern side, through constant prevalence of bad weather, a clear view
was not obtained.

* " Moulins are formed by deep cracks " (crevasses) " intersecting glacier rivulets.
The water in descending such cracks scoops out for itself a shaft, sometimes many
feet wide, and some hundreds of feet deep, into which the cataract plunges."—
Tyndall's Glaciers of the Alps, 8vo, London, 1860, p. 424.

350 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

stem of ice, and then, instead of slipping off as is ordinarily the
case, had gradually declined towards the west, bending the shaft
w^hich had formerly supported it into the form of a reversed ~).
The rock was touching the surface of the glacier, still adhering to
the ice-pedestal ; and this, although it had undergone crushing on
the inner curve and tension on the outer side, shelved no signs of
fracture.

BOTANY. — The collections which were formed were undertaken
with the view of contributing to the knowledge of the Kange in Alti-
tude of species, and the remarks which follow have solely reference
to the extreme upper range of species in Equatorial South America.

Examples of twenty Botanical Orders were obtained at 15,000
feet above the level of the sea and upwards, and twelve of these
touched or exceeded the height of 16,000 feet. In the Tables
upon pp. 352, 353 the altitudes are given, and the names of the
species so far as they have been identified, of the representatives
which attained the very greatest heights. These Tables, and the
Zoological ones which follow, include only such species as were
actually collected.

Species of fifteen genera of Lichens were collected in the
interior of Ecuador,^ out of which eight (those marked by asterisks
in the footnote) were obtained at 15,000 feet or higher : examples
of twenty-six genera of Mosses were collected,^ twelve of which
were found at 15,000 feet and upwards : while out of fifty-eight
genera of Flowering Plants (collected exclusively in the interior),
fifty -nine species came from 14,000 feet or higher, and of these
thirty -five species reached or surpassed 15,000 feet, and twenty

1 * Alectoria, Bceomyces, Cladonia, * Gyrophora, * Lecanora, * Lecidea, Leptogium,
* Neuropogon, * Parmelia, Physcia, RatnaUna, * Stereocaulon, Sticta, ^ JJmbilicaria,
and Usnea.

^ * Andrecea, Aneura, * Bartramia, * Brachymenium, * Brentelia^ * Crypto^
podium, Baltonia, Bicranum, * Bidymodon, * Grimmia, Hypnum, Lejeunia,
Macromitium, Metzgeria, * Mielichhoferia, 3fnium, Neckera, * Orthotrichum, Plagio-
chila, Porotrichum, * Racomitrium, Rhizogonium, Sematophyllum, * Splachnobryum^
Th^ddimn, and * Webera.

CHAP. XIX. THE HIGHEST PLANTS. 351

species 16,000 feet, above the level of the sea. Including all
Orders, forty-two species were taken at 16,000 feet or higher,^ and
almost all of these came either from Antisana or Chimborazo,^
principally from the latter mountain, which even at the height
of 17,000 feet has a large amount of soil free from snow.

One looks vainly amongst this flora for the brilliant clusters of
gem-like flowers which are so conspicuous near the snow-line of
the Alps. Yellows predominate in it, and they, like the other hues,
are wanting in purity. The highest species, with few exceptions,
were also found at considerably lower levels ; and the plants which
were taken at the greatest altitudes were generally solitary indi-
viduals, separated by long distances from their nearest relatives.

ZOOLOGY. — The Zoological collections also which were made
in Ecuador were formed with the view of bringing together the
species which range highest ; but they were not so strictly limited
as the Botanical ones, and, if time and opportunity had permitted,
I should have endeavoured to have worked in a more comprehen-
sive manner.

Annelida. — Earthworms were not numerous anywhere at
great elevations. The highest positions at which they were found
were in the neighbourhood of our camp on Cayambe (14,760 feet),
and upon the summit of Corazon (15,871 feet).^

1 So far as I am aware, nothing has hitherto been obtained from the height of
16,000 feet in Equatorial America, except the Lichens mentioned in the note at
the foot of p. 334, and, perhaps, the Moss to which reference is made at p. 76.
The Saxifrage which was discovered by Boussingault upon his attempt to ascend
Chimborazo in 1831, Humboldt says {Aspects of Nature^ vol. 2, pp. 35-6), was found
at 15,770 feet. "On the declivity of the Chimborazo the Saxifraga BoussingaulH,
described by Adolph Brongniart, grows beyond the limit of perpetual snow on loose
boulders of rock at 15,770 feet above the level of the sea, not at 17,000 as stated
in two estimable English journals. The Saxifrage discovered by Boussingault is
certainly, up to the present time, the highest known phaenogamous plant op the
surface of the earth."

^ These will be found enumerated upon pages 199 and 333-4.

8 Rhinodrilus Ecuadoriensis [see p. 112] will shortly be described by Dr. Benham
in the Annals and Magazine of Natural Hidory.

352

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

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CHAP. XIX. BOTANICAL HIGHEST - POINT TABLE.

353

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354 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

Myriopoda. — Amongst the species of Centipedes which were
obtained in Ecuador, two, belonging to the genus Newportia, are
considered new by Mr. R. I. Pocock ; and have been described by
him under the names N. monticola and N. dentata in the Annals
and Magazine of Natural History for August, 1890. The former
of these came from La Dormida, Cayambe (11,800 feet), and the
latter from the Seventh Camp on Chimborazo (12,000 feet). Two
of the others, namely, Otistigma scahricauda (Humb. & Sauss.), and
Scolopocryptops Mexicanus, Humb. & Sauss., have a rather wide
range. The first-named w^as obtained at various localities between
8500 - 12,000 feet, and the other was found nearly everywhere in
the interior up to 13,300 feet. It was taken at Tortorillas (Chim-
borazo), at the Hacienda of Antisana, and at many intermediate
points.^ Only one species of Millipede was seen in the interior,
namely, Spiroholus spinipodex, Karsch, and this was found as high as
12,000 feet on Pichincha, and from 12,000 to 13,000 feet on the south
side of Chimborazo. Another Millipede, 9 Spirostreptns cequat or talis ^
Porath, was taken on the banks of the Guayas, at Guayaquil.

CoLEOPTERA. — Descriptions of 104 new species, by Messrs. H.
W. Bates, D. Sharp, H. S. Gorham, A. S. Olliff and M. Jacoby will
be found at pp. 7-88 in the Supplement-
ary Appendix. The number of beetles
obtained on this journey which, thus
far, have been identified or described
amounts to two hundred and six.

Orthoptera. — The whole of this col-
lection remains undescribed. Leaping
Orthoptera were found very numerous
up to the height of 12 - 13,000 feet, and
upon Chimborazo were obtained in the
Vallon de Carrel at 16,000 feet. Ear-

CAYAMBE, ENLARGED FOUR

wigs were not generally abundant in the diameters.

1 I understand from Mr. Pocock that this is a Mexican species, and is common
in the West Indies and in Brazil.

FORCEPS OF AN EARWIG FROM

CHAP. XIX.

ORTHOPTERA AND NEUROPTERA.

355

interior, and it was a surprise to find them ranging so high as
the Sixth Camp on Chimborazo (13,353 feet), and np to 14,000
feet on Cayambe. The species on the former mountain was just
under one -half of an inch
in length, and an enlarged
Figure of it is given here-
with, to assist in its future
identification. The Cayambe
species was one inch in
length, with unusually large
forceps. From the low
country I have a species
one inch and a half in
length.

Examples of the very
curious insects called Fhas-
mas were taken on the Plain
of Tumbaco, in the basin of
Machachi, at La Dormida,
Cayambe, and as high as

13,000 feet (in the woods) on Pichincha. Their close resemblance
to sticks and twigs causes them to be readily overlooked, and many
natives in the interior had never seen them. They have, however,
the local name Cab alio de ijalo.

EARWIG FROM 13,353 FEET ON CHIMBORAZO.

Neuroptera. — Dragon -flies and May -flies were numerous in
some parts of the interior, especially in the basin of Machachi.
The greatest elevation at which they were obtained was on the
track from Machachi to Pedregal (the pass between Pasochoa and
Ruminahui). Dragon -flies were seen higher than 12,000 feet on
Pichincha and Cotocachi.

Hymenoptera. — The Ants alone have been worked out, — by
Mr. Peter Cameron ; whose contribution will be found at pp.
89-98 of the Supplementary Appendix. The ' set ' specimens of the

356 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

remainder, have been compared with the collections in the British

(Natural History) Museum, and it is found that the following

families and genera are included amongst them.

The Tenthredinidm are represented by a species of Strongylogaster.

There are several species of Ichneumonidce, apparently belonging to the
genera Ichneumon, Mesostenus, OpMon, Hemiteles, Cryptus, Echthrus, and
Lissonota (?).

There is a single small species belonging to the family Chrysididce.

The Dorylidce are represented by a single species, apparently belonging
to Ldbidus.

In Scoliidm there are three handsome species of Dielis.

In Pompilidce several species belonging to the genera Pompilus and Pepsis
were obtained.

In Sphegidm there are two species of Sphex.

The VespidcB are represented by species of Polistes and Polyhia.

The greater part of the collection, however, consists of Apidce
(Bees), and the species obtained appear to belong to the following
genera : Megacilissa, Halictus, Ceratina, Melissodes (?), Eucera (?),
Anthophora, Megachile, Xylocopa, Euglossa, Enlema , Bombtis, Tetra-
pedia, and Trigona. Among these, a black and white Bomhis,
closely resembling a Chilian species, is particularly common.

The species that are believed to come under Dielis include the
formidable insect which is figured upon p. 90 under the nickname
of ^''the Bishop.'^ This seemed to be very widely distributed. It
was obtained at various places between 7500 - 11,000 feet, and
was seen as high as 12,000 feet. Another large and equally
stinging Dielis was taken by myself on the Plain of Tumbaco,
but was seen there only. Two large and beautiful species which
are believed to come under Pepsis were captured between 11-
12,000 feet on Pichincha, at 12,000 feet on Illiniza, and at a
similar altitude upon Ootocachi. These four above - mentioned
insects were the largest of the Hymenoptera taken anywhere in
Ecuador. Several other species were obtained as high as 12,000
feet, and two at greater elevations, namely, an Ichneumon in the

CHAP. XIX.

LEPIDOPTERA.

357

neighbourhood of the Hacienda of Antisana (13,300 feet), and an
Opliion near Tortorillas, Chimborazo (13,300 feet). None of the
Hymenopterous insects made themselves objectionable. We were
stung by them only when their liberty was interfered with.

Lepidoptera. — I am greatly indebted to Messrs. Godman &
Salvin for having examined the Butterflies [see SuipX). App.
pp. 96-110]. Twenty -nine
species were obtained from
7300 feet upwards. Two of
these, namely, Colias diinera,
Doubl. & Hew., and Pieris
xantliodice, Lucas, are ex-
ceedingly numerous in the
interior of Ecuador, and
the latter species attains a
greater range in altitude

[from below 9000 feet to above 15,000 feet] than I observed in
the case of any other Butterfly.^

The Moths have undergone a preliminary examination at the
hands of Mr. H. Druce, who recognizes the following 23 genera.

PIERIS XANTHODICE, LUCAS.

Agrotis (7- 11,800 feet).
Ardia (9800).
Azelina (1500).
Oas^ma (3-4000).
Cidaria (12,500-13,800),
O^aricZea (3-4,000).
Cram&ws (9 -10,000).
Dariza (18,300).
Doleda (9000).
EndroUa (9200).
Epiolus (11,800).

Erehus (0 - 9800).

Eupyra (8 - 8500).

Eurimene (11,800).

Halsidola (10,000 - 11,800).

Leptosphetta (8-4000).

Lophocampa (8500).
2 Margaronia (level of sea).
2 Opisogonia (11,500-12,000).

Sangala (3 - 8500).
2 Scordylia (12,850-18,300).
2 .Sco^osw (8000-8500).
Semeopus (9200).

There are probably species of not fewer than 13 other genera in
the collection.

1 This Butterfly, I am informed by Messrs. Godman & Salvin, has a wide range
in latihide in the Andes. ^ Caiight in the daytime.

358 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

Thirty -five species were captured at or above 8500 feet.
The largest of the whole has been identified by Mr. Druce
as Erehus odora, Lin. Of the three examples which were
obtained, two — a male and a female — were brought in alive
by my young friends at Machachi (9800). The third was
secured upon the homeward voyage, on the Pacific Steam Navi-
gation Company's SS. Ilo, about 100 miles south of Panama.
I noticed this moth, careering about the ship, twenty-four hours
before it was taken. Some of the crew said that it flew
on board while we were at sea, but it seems to me more
probable that it came to us while the Ilo was lying in the
Guayaquil river. One of the Machachi specimens measures
7|^ inches across the wings. All three examples were powerful
and tenacious of life, and this moth is also exceptional
in its great range in altitude, — having been taken, as I have
stated above, at the level of the sea, and nearly 10,000 feet
higher.

The species which were secured at the greatest heights
have not been determined — even generically. Amongst others

may be noted a beautiful
pure white moth, with wings
of satin - like texture, which
was taken at about 12,000
feet, in the daytime, on the
eastern slopes of Pichincha.
A Figure of this is annexed,
of the natural size. Another,
at first siffht not very dis-

MOTH FROM I2,000 FEET ON PICHINCHA. ^ "^

similar in appearance, but of
smaller size, and having a suspicion of golden colour on the
otherwise pure white upper wings, was captured at our camp
on Cotocachi (14,500 feet), in the dusk. The loftiest position
at which we actually obtained moths was on the very highest
point of Guagua Pichincha (15,918 feet). A rather numerous

CHAP. XIX. DIPTERA. 359

company was fluttering about the summit ridge. This, the highest
moth obtained, was also the smallest
taken anywhere in Ecuador.

DiPTERA.. — The Diptera as a whole
have not been examined, but I have had
the advantage of submitting some sec-
tions to Baron C. R. Osten Sacken, who
has recognised amongst them species of
the following genera.

Sciara, a broad-winged species of a South- ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^
American and Mexican type, like Sc. Ameri- ^^"^°'it^^h,^rJi,f?^^^'^

cana, Wied.

OF PICHINCHA.

Plecia, a small black species. Another larger and more slender species
(Cotocachi, 11-13,000 feet) may perhaps belong to the genus Spodius, Lw.
{Hesperinus, Walk.) which has been found in the British possessions of North
America, in the higher regions of the Rocky Mountains, and also in Eastern
Europe.

Dilophus, a single specimen of a small species of very ordinary appearance.

Bihio, male specimens of a black species of ordinary appearance.

Pachyrrhina, a couple of specimens.

Tipula, four or five species; one of them from La Dormida, Cayambe
(11,800 feet), with the knot -like swellings on the joints of the antennae,
peculiar to some South-American and Mexican species.

Dicranomyia, a male specimen, camp on Cayambe (15,000 feet).

Rhyphus, a single specimen, with pretty variegated wings.

Tabanus, a single specimen of a small, inconspicuous species.

Chrysopila, a single specimen of the usual type, with the golden pubes-
cence.

Odontomyia, ordinary type.

Empis, several specimens of a small black species from Antisana, and La
Dormida, Cayambe.

Asilus, a small gray species, represented by a couple of specimens.

Eristalis. I could distinguish three species, — one with a gray transverse
band on the thorax, not unlike the E. albiceps, Macq., from the southern
United States, or the E. seniculus from Cuba.

360 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

Mesograpta (an exclusively Ameri(;an genus), a couple of species of ordi-
nary appearance.

Allograpta, a single specimen may belong to this genus.

Volucella, two specimens of medium size, the body dark brownish
violet.

TachinidcB, abundantly represented, as might be expected from an Ameri-
can mountain - fauna : among them several Bejeanice, with black or rufous
hairs and spines, the latter very like the species common in the Rocky
Mountains.

Rather numerous Muscidce and Anthomyidce, some of them resembling
European species, and among them the genuine 3Iusca domestica.

A small Ortalid {Euxesta 9), some Drosophilce , a Sapromyza, a Calohata. and
a TcBniaptera conclude the series.

Some of the Diptera were the only insects in the interior that
were aggressive. There were several species of Flies on the Quito
Road that assailed us wantonly and pertinaciously. Above 7000
feet, Musquitoes were found only at one place (and not in a situa-
tion where there seemed to be any special reason for their location,
though there must have been one), namely, upon the road between
Penipe and the Hacienda of Candelaria, a little below the latter
place, at about 9000 feet. The members of this colony were ener-
getic, and attacked us with spirit and determination. Musquito
nets were not necessary anywhere in Ecuador, although at some
places (Bodegas de Babahoyo, for example) they would have been
useful.

Arachnid A. — The Scorpions have been identified by Prof. E.
Eay Lankester and Mr. R. I. Pocock, but the major part of this
collection has not been worked out. Spiders were found on the
summits of Corazon and Pichincha, and at many other nearly
equally elevated positions. The legions which swarmed upon the
slopes below indicate that entomological food Avas in abundance ;
and I do not doubt that there were, even in the close vicinity of
perpetual snow, multitudes of very minute insects that gave them
sustenance.

CHAP. XIX.

CRUSTACEA.

361

Crustacea. — References to the few species which were met
with in Ecuador will be found at pp. 121 - 127 of the Supplementary
Appendix. The Am-
phipod {Hyalella iner-
7nis, S. I. Smith) to
Avhich I was introduced
at Machachi [see p. 118]
was subsequently taken
in pools round about
the Hacienda of Anti-
sana (13,300 feet), and
no Amphipod appears
to have been obtained
hitherto elsewhere at hyalella inermis, s. i. smith (9800-13,300 feet).

so considerable an ele-
vation. The annexed Figure is magnified ten diameters.

In the Tables upon pp. 362, 363, a first attempt is made to
shew at a glaiUce the highest points which are attained in Ecuador
by various forms of animal life. They include two ' stragglers,'
namely, the small Bug that has been referred to the genus Emesa
[p. 134], which was captured on the sonfhern side of Illiniza, on
snow at 16,500 feet ; and a Fly, that Baron Osten Sacken identifies
as belonging to the genus Tanyjms, which was taken, on snow, at
16,200 feet on the northern side of the same mountain. These
insects, doubtless, had been carried by wind away from their usual
haunts. The situations where they were found could not have
been their natural dwelling-places.

While forming these collections I was led to remark the fre-
quency with which closely similar forms recurred at similar altitudes,
upon mountains often long distances apart. This w^as observed in
regard to things living in the soil, as well as in respect to winged
insects of roving habits. It was not unusual to see Butterflies,
apparently of the same species, at closely similar altitudes upon

widely separated mountains. This was the case with a Lyccena

3 A

362

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

o
at

Dr. W. B. Benham.
Mr. R. I. Pocock.

Mr H. W. Bates.

Do.

Do.
Mr. A. Sidney OUifl.

Do.

Mr. Peter Cameron.
Mr. W. F. Kirby.
Do.

'*" co~ io" lo lo" lo o~ io~ lo o" lo ->*' c<f o" eo" i-h" o" co" so

>-H

Cayambe (south-west side)
Chimborazo (south side)

Pichincha (on summit-ridge)
Corazon (on actual summit)
Chimborazo (west side)

Do. do.

Do. do. .

Do. do.

Do. do. .

Cayambe (south-west side) .
Valley of Collanes, Altar
Chimborazo (west side)
Pichincha (south side)

Between Machachi & Pedrega

Panecillo (top of), Quito
Hacienda of Antisana .
Tortorillas, Chimborazo

52;

. d3 . . . . c . d . • •

d 1 c s d d d c c fl G d • •

RMnodrilus Ecuadoriensis

Scolopocryptops Mexicanus
Sauss.

Colpodes megacephalus
C. diopsis . . ■ .
C. oreas . . . .
Bembidium Andinum
Helicorrhynchus vulsics
Naupadus parvicollis
Amathynetes alticola
Macrops coelorum
Erirrhinoides distindus .

Not identified
Do.
Do.
Do.

Do.

Pheidole monticola .
Ichneumon f sp.
Ophion ? sp.

Annelida (Earthworm)
Myriopoda (Centipede) .

Coleoptera (Carabidae) .
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. do.
Do. (Otiorrhynchidae)
Do. do.
Do. (Curculionida?)
Do. do.
Do. do.

Orthoptera (Forficula) .
Do. (Blatta)
Do. (Saltatoria) .
Do. (Phasma) .

Neuroptera (Dragonflies)

HYMENOPTERA(Formicidae)
Do. (Ichneumonidae)
Do. do.

CHAP. XIX. ZOOLOGICAL HIGHEST -POINT TABLE.

363

>^ P

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ft O

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O OS

O O O O r-l

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O 1-1 T-t O GO

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O 00 00 O 05

o o
o o

CO CO

§ 8

00 lO

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(M CO

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<1 PU

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p a

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I— I "^

364

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

that lias not been described, which was taken at 11 - 12,500 feet
on Pichincha and thirty - six miles away at 12,000 feet on
Cotocachi, and was not seen elsewhere. But, for the most part,
liutterflies which were taken at considerable elevations were
also found on the connecting, lower ground. Thus, Pleris xantlio-
(lice, Lucas, though captured so high as 14,000 and 15,000 feet,
was found everywhere in the intervening basins ; and as, even
had this not been so, it would need little effort for them to pass
from one mountain to another, and further as they may sometimes
suffer involuntary transportation, no particular stress can be laid
upon such instances of occasional recurrence at similar elevations.

One Butterfly, however, was exceptional in being found upon
nearly all the mountains we visited, in numbers, and seemed to

be established between the eleva-
tions 12,000 - 16,000 feet. This is
described by Messrs. Godman &
Salvin, at p. 107 of the Supplement-
ary Appendix, as Colias alticola. It
was first obtained near Tortorillas,
Chimborazo (13,300 feet), and was
seen in the Vallon de Carrel as high as 16,000 feet. When we
were encamped upon Antisana it attracted attention by the great
elevation above the level of the sea at which it was flying (16,000
feet). It was seen subsequently upon all the mountains we visited

(except Sara-urcu) between the ele-
vations of 12 - 15,000 feet, and was
captured at 12,000 feet on Pichin-
cha, at 13,000 feet on Cayambe, and
at 15,000 feet on the western side
of Chimborazo, and was never either
taken or seen in the basins between
these mountains.
The only other species with which this could have been con-
fused is represented in the annexed Figure. This, the most common

COLIAS ALTICOLA, GODMAN & SALVIN.

COLIAS DIMERA, DOUBL. & HEW.

CHAP. XIX. BONPLAND'S * YF.LLOW BUTTERFLY: 365

butterfly in the interior of Ecuador, is found from 7200-11,000 feet,
and is sometimes met with so high as 12-13,000 feet. The range
in altitude of Colias dimera therefore overlaps that of C. alticola ;
but while the former species is distributed nearly everywhere in
the interior and occasionally reaches a considerable height, the latter
affects great elevations and is not seen on the lower ground. In-
asmuch as Colias alticola is well established on the upper slopes of
the Great Andes of the Equator, and is the only one ranging up to
perpetual snow, it seems probable that it was ' the yellow butter-
fly " which was observed by Bonpland on Chimborazo, in 1802 [see
p. 114]. So far as is known, it attains a higher elevation than
any other Butterfly on either of the two American Continents.

The recurrence of species whose habits are in-terranean, at
great heights, long distances apart, is perhaps more noteworthy
than the case which has just been given of a butterfly domiciled
in insular situations. The following beetles were found at the
localities which are mentioned, and only at those places.

Approximate
Species. Localities. distance apart

in miles.

_,,,.._ ^ I Summit of Corazon 15,870 )

Colpode8dwpsis,^.t., . .jpi^j^i^^ha . . 14-15,000 f ^^

Hac. of Antisana 18,300 )

C. tnegacephalus, Bsites . .^ Cayambe . . . 13-14,000 r 36

Pichincha . . 15,6U0 )

^ ,, „ , i Hac. of Antisana 13,300 )

C. orthomus, Bates . . . . ^' . i o i c: aaa r ^0

( Cayambe. . . 13-15,000 )

C. steno. Bates ^ ^-hincha . . 14 15 500 ^^

Cayambe . . . 15,000

HelicorrhyncMis vulsus, OlHff \ ,ZHL1^ ' ' ir: la''^!!

i Chimborazo. .15,800-16,000 f

nr 7 rMT-ff Pichmcha . . 15,500 ^,

Macrops ccelorum, Olhn . . i ^, . , .^^.^^ r 94

^ ' ( Chimborazo . . 16,000 f

Naupactus parvicoUis, Olli^ . \ ^, . , • • • '» ( ^gQ

( Chimborazo . . lo,800 )

d; . ;; , -, ■ -r,^ CotocacM . .11,000-18,500

Pelmatellus Andtum, Bates . i r,-, • -, ^ ^^^

Chimborazo. . 13-18,300

140

366 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

The fact that none of these species were seen at lower eleva-
tions cannot be regarded as evidence that they are restricted to the
lofty positions at which they were discovered ; though it is unlikely
that insects which obviously found themselves ' at home ' under the
conditions that were mentioned at pages 113 and 237 will be found
at much lower levels, enjoying much higher mean temperatures.

Upon the whole, it appeared that most individual species had
a comparatively small range in altitude in Ecuador. One of the
most prominent exceptions to the general rule was the Moth
{Erehus odor a, Lin.) which was referred to upon p. 358, that was
taken at the level of the sea and nearly ten thousand feet above
it. This was exceeded only by one other species, namely, by a
AVood-louse which has been identified by the Rev. A. E. Eaton as
Metoponorthus pruinosus, Brandt ; and this little Crustacean seems
entitled to consideration, for it must possess in a most unusual
degree the power of accommodating itself to circumstances.^

It now remains to summarize our experiences at low pressures ;
and, before recapitulating them, to offer a few general remarks
upon the affections, pains and disorders which are so often called
Mai de montagne or Mountain-sickness.

This term has been in use throughout the nineteenth century.
It was originally adopted because it was observed that men and
other animals were affected in various unpleasant ways upon
reaching great elevations on mountains ; and, as it was unknown
that the same effects could be produced in mid-air, in balloon, or
at the level of the sea by artificial reduction in pressure, it was
concluded that they were peculiar to mountains. To the present
time, amongst ignorant persons, they are often supposed to arise
from purely local causes.

' It was obtained among roots of trees on the banks of the Guayas, just outside
Guayaquil ; in the garden of Seiior Gomez de la Torre at Ibarra (7200 feet) ; at the
back of the Hacienda of Guachala (9200 feet) ; on the track between Antisanilla
and Pinantura (11,000 feet) ; in the woods on Pichincha (12,000 feet) ; and close to
the Hacienda of Antisana (13,300 feet).

CHAP. XIX. SU3131ARY OF OUR EXPERIENCES. 367

AVhile there is not the least doubt that they are directly or
indirectly produced by diminution in atmospheric pressure, many
writers (even amongst those who are well convinced that this is
the true cause) continue to speak, when discussing mountain-
sickness, solely of elevation above the level of the sea and ignore
pressure ; and in this way help to perpetuate the false idea that it
is an effect of altitude. In the remarks that follow, less promin-
ence will be given to the heights which were reached than to the
pressures which were experienced ; though, as it is more usual
to think in feet than in barometric inches, the approximately
equivalent elevations will be given with the pressures that are
mentioned.

Notwithstanding the large number of allusions which had been
made in print to Mountain - sickness, I was unable, prior to my
journey amongst the Great Andes of the Equator, to tell at what
pressure it was probable that we might or should be affected. I
found, also, that I could not distinguish with certainty the effects
which were due to diminution in pressure from those which might
have arisen from other causes ; or, further, say which (if any) of
the effects that might be certainly due to diminution in pressure
would remain permanently if one should continue constantly at a
low pressure. These three points were those upon which I sought
for information. — Firstly, at wliat jiressure shall we commence to be
affected ? Secondly, in what way shall we be affected ? Thirdly,
can one become habituated to low j^^essures 9

The answer to the first question came sooner than was ex-
pected. At a pressure of 16*500 inches (16,664 feet) we were
incapacitated for work [pp. 48-53], and found ourselves jn-e-
occupied by the paramount necessity of obtaining air. All pains
had been taken to eliminate the possibility of complications from
other causes, and I repeat [see p. 52] ^*^that our incapacity ^ at
this time was neither due to exhaustion nor to deficiency of bodily
strength, nor to weakness from want of food, but was caused by
the whole of our attention being taken up in efforts to get air.'^

368 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

Three things were especially noticeable — {a) the suddenness with
which Ave were vanquished ; and {b) the simultaneous collapse
of the Carrels and myself ; although {c) Mr. Perring remained
unaffected.

Before being overcome in this way, no symptoms were re-
marked in ourselves/ and during the attack the only external
indication that we were affected was given by laboured respiration,
accompanied by spasmodic gasps or gulps ; but conjoined there
was intense headache, and (what others have termed) an indescrib-
able feeling of illness, pervading almost the whole body.

This attack, which came upon us so suddenly, passed away
very gradually, by such infinitesimal degrees that I am unable to
say when we entirely recovered from it. It seemed to arrive at
a maximum quickly, to remain equally intense for several hours,
and it then died away imperceptibly. While it lasted, there was
feverishness, marked acceleration in the rate of the pulse, and rise
in body temperature [pp. 49, 52]. Twenty -four hours after its
commencement there was a distinct improvement in the condition
of the Carrels ; the intensity of their headaches had diminished,
and the ' indescribable feeling of illness ' had disappeared. Twelve
hours earlier than this it was possible to satisfy our wants for air
by breathing through the nostrils alone. At 1 p.m. on Dec. 28, I
was able to keep my mouth shut during the ten minutes requisite
for taking my temperature.

Thirty - six hours after the commencement of the attack, the
Carrels were much better, and became eager to continue explora-
tion. Anticipating that they might be adversely affected upon
sustaining further diminution in pressure, I directed them not to
endeavour to reach a great elevation [p. 53], but gave no reasons

' Our animals, however, shewed decided siii:ns of exhaustion before pressure had
fallen to IT inches [see p. 46j, and they were nearly dead beat by the time they
arrived at the Second Camp (16-500 inches).

If more attention had been paid to ourselves, I do not doubt that premonitory
symptoms would have been noticed. My excuse, or explanation, is given on
pp. 44, 51. I was taken unawares, not expecting to be affected so soon.

CHAP. XIX. EVIDENCES OF DETERIORATION. 369

for the instruction ; and they, imagining that the ascent of the
mountain was the first consideration, made a push for the summit
[p. 59]. They were away nearly twelve hours, and during this
time experienced reduction in pressure from 16*500 to about
15 "100 inches, while ascending from 16,664 to 19,300 feet. Upon
return, their condition closely approached complete exhaustion.
They staggered like men in an advanced state of intoxication, and
threw themselves down and went to sleep without either eating or
drinking [p. 59].'

During the time they had been absent, my own condition had
materially improved ; and thus it appeared that although there
was a likelihood we should become habituated to a pressure of
16*500 inches, there was a probability that we should be further
affected at still lower pressures. This determined the position of
the Third Camp (16-000 inches; 17,285 feet). While transport
was being effected between the two posts, it seemed that we had
grown weaker, and we certainly were [p. 61] *^^ comparatively life-
less and feeble, and had a strong disposition to sit down." By
January 2, headaches had nearly departed, feverishness had dis-
appeared (my temperature had fallen to 97° '9 Faht.), and the
circulation had gone back to the normal rate ; but respiration
continued to be affected, and it was found that we could not
satisfy our wants for air, wliile in movement, except by breathing
through nostrils and mouths.

Under the further fall in pressure which occurred when ascend-
ing on January 3 to the foot of the Southern Walls of Ohimborazo
(16*000 to 15*290 inches) it was remarked that the rate of travel-
ling was unusually slow ; and this was more distinctly seen on the
following day when mounting to the summit (pressure declining
from 16*000 to 14*100 inches). At a little above 19,000 feet, I
noticed that '^our paces got shorter and shorter, until at last the

1 At the time of their return, no opinion could be formed as to their rate. If
two hours were occupied in halts, and ten hours in movement, the mean of their
ascending and descending rates would be only 526 feet per hour.

370 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

toe of one step almost touched the heel of the next one." Our rate
on this day was deplorable, partly owing to exceptional softness of
the snow [p. 71].

Circumstances then compelled me to leave Chimborazo [pp.
78-80] and to descend to lower levels. Between Jan. 12 and
Feb. 17, the highest pressure observed was 22*156, at Ambato,
and the lowest was 16*348 inches, on Illiniza [p. 133]. Upon
February 18-19, we stayed at or close to the summit of Cotopaxi
(19,500 to 19,613 feet) for twenty -six consecutive hours, with
the barometer standing at 14 "750 inches, without any serious
inconvenience . [p. 150]. This was the greatest length of time we
remained continuously at so low pressure.

As we were not ''incapacitated^ upon Cotopaxi, it was not
likely that we should be very acutely affected upon Antisana or
Cayambe. Headache did not occur at all, while ascending these
considerable mountains ; and nothing was noted that could be
attributed to ^ rarefaction of the air ' except the feeling of lassitude
and want of bodily strength, which always manifested itself at the
lower and lowest pressures [pp. 61, 70, 150, 235]. The spirit
indeed was willing but the flesh was weak. Upon Cayambe there
was convincing evidence that my two assistants were less vigorous
than usual [p. 235].

After quitting Cayambe, the barometer was not again seen
standing below 16 inches until the second ascent of Chimborazo;
and upon this occasion our experiences did not differ from those
last mentioned. No one had headache ; but, while in movement,
all found it was necessary to breathe through the mouth as well
as through the nostrils. When at rest, sufficient air could be
obtained through the nostrils alone ; and on the summit I was
able to keep my mouth shut for ten minutes while observing my
temperature.

Excluding the time passed on the flat coast land, we were 212
days in Ecuador, and the nights were passed at the pressures and
elevations mentioned upon the next page.

CHAP. XIX

PRESSURES 1

Number Atmospheric pressure
of nights. experienced.

4 . . 29-000 -28-500 inches

. 23-600 -22-540 „

22-510-21-900 „

21-720-21-110 „

20-920-20-200 ,,

19-800-19-500 „

14 .

19-270-18-900 .,

18-755-18-280 ,,

18-080-17-780 „

17-730

17-410

17-430

17-250

17-220

16-950

16-840

16-500

16-000

14-750

371

Height above level of sea.

Less than 6000 feet.
Between 6000-8000 feet.

do.

8000 - 9000

do.

9000 - 10,000

do.

10,000-11,000

do.

11,000-12,000

do.

12,000-13,000

do.

13,000 - 14,000

do.

14,000-14,500

At 14,762

do. 14,992

do. 15,189

do. 15,207

do. 15,446

do. 15,811

do. 15,984

do. 16,664

do. 17,285

do. 13,500

Having recapitulated the various ways in which we were
affected whilst among the Great Andes, I now pass on to the question,
Can one become habituated to low pressures ? and in connection
with this bring together in a tabular form upon page 372 a few
examples of the rates of speed that were attained over the longer
courses ; selecting them only from instances in which the times
occupied were exactly noted and the differences of level were
well ascertained, and taking them from those in which we started
unexhausted by previous work, from places where atmospheric
pressure was already low.

Without a few words of explanation, not much edification can
be obtained from this table. A reader may compare the entry at
January 7 with that of June 9 and conclude from the apparent
falling -off that there is evidence of deterioration rather than of
improvement. This conclusion would be erroneous. The dissimi-
larity of the work sufficiently accounts for the difference between

372

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

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CHAP. XIX. EVIDENCES OF HABITUATION. 373

the rates. Few of these examples can properly be compared with
each other ; for, besides the reason given upon p. 299, on some
occasions the party was larger or smaller (and this always exerts
an influence) ; and sometimes we were laden and at others unen-
cumbered. The condition of the weather has also to be taken into
account.

Upon the whole these observations afford indications that we
became someichat habituated to low pressures. If the entries at
January 3, 6 and 7 are compared, a continuous advance will be
noted. This, however, was partly due to increasing familiarity
with the ground which was traversed. There is stronger evidence
of improvement on Feb. 18, when over a much longer course the
mean rate was faster than on the shorter one of January 3 ; and
this was exceeded upon March 10 and April 4 when we were
unembarrassed by natives. The nature of the work upon Illiniza
and Cotocachi was similar, and through absorption of time by step-
cutting the rates upon those mountains were slower than upon
Ootopaxi, Antisana or Cayambe. Comparison of the entries at
Feb. 9, April 24 and June 9 shews no deterioration, although there
is little sign of progress. There is a more marked contrast between
the rates of January 4 and July 3, but this is modified if due
allowance is made in the first case for the exceptional softness
of the snow, in the second one for the greater simplicity of the
route.

But although it seemed that we did become somewhat habitu-
ated to low pressures, and that this was shewn amongst other
ways by improvement in speed, it appeared to me that the best of
our rates were inferior to those which we should have attained
over the same ground at higher pressures ; and I brought this
point to the test related upon pp. 300-301, and obtained from
that experiment evidence that I was materially affected by, and
weakened at, a pressure of 21 inches (9850 feet). It need scarcely
be remarked that this observation has a very wide interest ; for,
if it is really the case that the bodily powers are lessened under

374 TRAVELS AMONGST TEE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

prolonged diminution in pressure, the fact must affect all calcula-
tions which may be made on the basis of higher pressures either
in respect to the marching of troops, transport by animals, the
labour of the navvy, or any other description of work dependent
upon muscular exertion.

In reviewing the whole of our experiences, two different sets
of effects could be distinguished ; namely, those which were
transitory, and those which were permanent, — that is to say,
permanent so long as we remained at low pressures.

The transitory effects were acceleration of the circulation of
the blood, increase in the temperature of the body, and pressure on
the blood-vessels. The permanent ones were augmentation of the
rate of breathing and disturbance of the habitual manner of
respiration, indisposition to take food, and lessening of muscular
power. The whole of these, doubtless, were due to diminution
in pressure, but the transitory ones, presumably, ivere produced hy
some cause which was itself only temporary} There are strong
grounds for believing that they are due to the expansion (under
diminution of external pressure) of gaseous matter within the body ;
which seeks to be liberated, and causes an internal pressure that
strongly affects the blood-vessels. While equilibrium was being
restored between the internal and external pressure, the ' indescrib-
able feeling of illness ^ gradually disappeared, and headache died
away ; and it may be reasonably expected that these ^ acute '
troubles can be escaped by taking pains to avoid abrupt diminution
of pressure.*

^ During the whole time we were in Ecuador, neither with ourselves nor among
the people who were employed, was there anything observed of the nature of
hemorrhage, vomiting, or nausea (although among our viandes there was something
that would have strained the stomach of an ostrich [see pp. 61 and 207]) ; and it
thus appears that these unpleasant features are not indispensable accompaniments
of life at great elevations.

2 Or, on the contrary, suffocation may be expected, probably accompanied by
hemorrhage, by persons who submit themselves to a very rapid reduction in press-
ure (either in balloon, or artificially), if they have previously been living for some
length of time with the barometer at 29 to 30 inches.

CHAP. XIX. THE EFFECT ON RESPIRATION. 375

From the ' permanent ' effects there is no escape. The large
increase in the rate of respiration and the compnlsory breathing
through open mouths were caused by involuntary efforts to make
up for the decrease in the density of the air by imbibing a greater
voliome. It was possible, without any great effort, at a pressure of
14*750 inches (19,600 feet), to sustain life, while at rest, by increas-
ing the volume of air inspired, and thus in some measure to
compensate for the reduction in its density (which was then half
that of air at the level of the sea). But when in movement it
became difficult to enlarge the breathing capacity to the extent
necessary to meet the further demand for air which was the
result of muscular exertion ; ^ and, notwithstanding the increased
efforts which were put forth to meet this demand, there was, in
all probability, a considerable deficiency in the weight and value of
the amount which was imbibed.

When the effects consequent upon experiencing diminution in
atmospheric pressure were first noticed, it was guessed that they
were in some way due to a peculiarity in the air. Father Joseph
de Acosta was amongst the earliest to mention the subject, and in
Book III of his Natural & Moral History he devotes a Chapter
to ^^ Some mervellous effects of the windes, which are in some
partes of the Indies, ^^ giving first a few prefatory remarks upon
sea - sickness, which he says ^^it be true that the motion of the
shippe helpes much, in that it moves more or less, and like-
wise the infections and ill - savours of things in the shippe ;
yet the proper and naturall cause is the aire and the vapors
of the sea. . . It is proved by many experiences, that the aire
of the sea is the chief e cause of this strange indisposition '' ;
and, having settled to his own satisfaction that the air of the

The immunity from headache of Mr. Perring and others who accompanied us
I consider was due to their having lived for a considerable length of time at lower
pressures than ourselves.

^ In ascending a mountain, the respiration is quickened by two causes— (1) by
muscular exertion, and (2) by diminution in pressure. These act independently of
each other.

376 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

sea is the principal cause of sea - sickness, lie goes on to express
his belief that the air at great heights is the cause of mountain-
sickness.

"I thought good," he says, "to speake this, to shew a strange effect,
which happens in some partes of the Indies, where the ayre and the wind
that rains makes men dazie, not lesse, but more than at sea. Some hold it
for a fable, others say that it is an addition ; for my parte I will speak what I
have tried. There is in Peru a high mountaine which they call Pariacaca, and
having heard speake of the alteration it bred, I went as well prepared as
I could . . . but notwithstanding all my provision, when I came to mount the
stairs, as they call them, which is tlie top of tliis mountaine, I was suddenly
surprized with so mortall and strange a pang that I was ready to fall from my
beast to the ground ; and although we were many in company, yet every one
made haste (without any tarrying for his companion) to free himselfe speedily
from this ill passage. Being then alone with one Indian, whom I intreated
to keep me on my beast, I was surprised with such pangs of straining and
casting as I thought to cast vp my soul too ; for having cast vp meate,
fleugme, and choUer, both yellow and greene, in the end I cast vp blood,
with the straining of my stomacke. To conclude, if this had continued, I
should vndoubtedly have died ; but this lasted not above three or four
lioures, that we were come into a more convenient and naturall temperature.
. . Some in the passage demaunded confession, thinking verily to die ;
others got off their beasts, beeing overcome with casting . . . and it was
tolde me that some have lost their lives there with this accident. . . But
commonly it dooth no important harme, onely this, paine and troublesome
distaste while it endures : and not onely the passage of Pariacaca hath this
propertie, but also all this ridge of the mountaine, which runnes above five
hundred leagues long, and in what place soever you passe, you shall find
strange intemperatures, yet more in some partes than in other, and rather to
those which mount from the sea than from the plaines.^ . . And no doubt
but the winde is the cause of this intemperature and strange alteration, or
the aire that raignes there. . . I therefore perswade my selfe, that the
element of the aire is there so subtile and delicate, as it is not proportionable
with the breathing of man, which requires a more grosse and temperate aire,
and I beleeve it is the cause that doth so much alter the stomacke and
trouble all the disposition."

1 The reason of this being that the Andean slopes on the side of the Pacific are
usually steeper than those upon the east of the chain. A more abrupt reduction in
pressure is consequently experienced.

CHAP. XIX. PROFESSOR PAUL BERT. 377

At the end of this highly interesting passage^ by some process
of reasoning that is not manifested. Father Acosta shrewdly guesses
that the air is ^delicate' at great heights/ and '^is not proportion-
able with the breathing of man, which requires a more grosse aire/''

Subsequently, when diminution in atmospheric pressure was
demonstrated by means of the barometer, men spoke of the effects
of ' rarefaction of the air/ though without having a distinct idea
how it operated ; and after the discovery of oxygen they began to
lay all the troubles to want of oxygen, which it seems to have been
thought settled in the atmosphere like sediment in muddy water.

Latterly, Professor Paul Bert endeavoured to shew that no
troubles would occur through diminution in j)ressure (or rarefac-
tion of the air) if one imbibed sufficient oxygen ; and he carried on
a long series of laboratory experiments with the ultimate aim
of offering practical suggestions for the guidance of mountain-
travellers and aeronauts. His two final experiments, with the
conclusions at which he arrived from them, are related in his own
words at the end of this volume.

It will be seen by reference to Appendix J (where these
experiments are given at full length), that Prof. Bert observed the
rate of the pulse was accelerated when pressure was reduced, that
it fell again when pressure was restored, and that he noticed it
was temporarily reduced upon imbibing oxygen. He considered
that in the inhalation of oxygen he had discovered a panacea for
all ills arising from diminution in pressure, and at the conclusion
of his book {La Pression Barometrique) gave various ' practical
hints ^ for the guidance of mountain-travellers and aeronauts.

At p. 1103 he suggests that the former class might carry metal
cylinders, weighing 28|- lbs., holding 330 litres of oxygen com-
pressed to one-thirtieth of its ordinary bulk, an amount which he
calculates would suffice for one man for more than an hour (at
what elevation or pressure is not stated) ; and at p. 1061 he

1 The Barometer had not been invented when Acosta's Natural & Moral History
was first printed (1590).

3 C

378 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xrx.

mentions twenty litres per minute as the least quantity that a
party of three persons would require at an elevation approximately
corresponding to the upper 5000 feet of Mount Everest. Thus, if
a trio should encamp upon Mount Everest at the height of 24,000
feet, and pass an entire day in ascending and descending the final
5000 feet, and a second night at the camp (say thirty-five hours in
all at 24,000 feet or higher), the least quantity that would be re-
quired (according to Prof. Paul Bert) would be 20 litres x 2100,
say 200 hogsheads of oxygen. Feeling, no doubt, that there might
be difficulty in transporting and installing this amount, he adds
(p. 1104) that '' it would certainly be preferable to produce the
oxygen on the spot, ^' and says that ^^ scientific expeditions of long
duration to the highlands of Tibet, Ladak, and the Pamir could
perfectly well carry the necessary apparatus. ^^ The recent voyagers
in these regions do not, however, appear to have adopted Prof.
Bert's suggestions, and so far as I am aware they have not been
followed by a single mountain-traveller.

Amongst the practical hints offered by Prof. Bert for the
guidance of aeronauts, who may aspire to reach great elevations,
there are to be found the recommendations to make '' un repas
d'aliments substantiels " before departure ; to eat frequently while
ascending ; to go slowly at great heights (that is to say, to mount
gradually); and, especially, ^^in order to be completely safe,"" to
inhale oxygen — doing so continuously when higher than 5 to 6000
metres (16,405-19,686 feet).^ '' If these precautions,^^ he says, '' had
been taken with the Zenith, there would have been no catastrophe
to deplore. ''

This is a reference to the fate that befell two aeronauts (Oroce-
Spinelli and Sivel) who were experimented upon by Prof. Bert on
March 9, 1874. He shut them up in his metal cylinder and
reduced pressure to about the equivalent of 24,000 feet above the
sea. They imbibed oxygen ; noticed that the rate of their pulses

1 Want of space obliges me to compress these directions. They will be found
at pp. 1094-96 of La Pression Barometrique,

CHAP. XIX. THEORY. 379

fell temporarily, and seemed fascinated by the experiment. They
received, however, several very emphatic indications of the danger
attendant upon rapid diminution of pressure,^ which were con-
firmed upon an actual balloon ascent made thirteen days later.
Taking no warning from tliese premonitory symptoms, on April 15,
1875, they left the earth at 11.35 a.m., and in two hours rose to
the height of about 26,000 feet, and for two hours more hovered
about 26-28,000 feet. At the end of this time both were found
suffocated, with their mouths full of blood ; but neither the time
nor the elevation at which they died is known exactly, as M.
Tissandier, the sole survivor of the party, was rendered insensible,
and thus was unable to give a complete account of the affair.

Various suggestions were made as to the immediate cause of
their death, and upon these Prof. Bert remarks (p. 1075) that none
deserve to be reproduced, they are " old ideas, already condemned^' ;
and to the end of his volume (which was published three years after
the catastrophe — allowing him ample time to reconsider his posi-
tion) he maintains (1) that deficiency of oxygen was the cause of
the death of these aeronauts and of all the evils that are produced
by diminution in pressure, and (2) that artificial inhalation of
oxygen is the sovereign remedy. It does not appear that he took
the practical course of remaining in his cylinder for a length of
time, at a pressure corresponding to that which proved fatal to his
pupils.^ If he had done this, and had emerged alive, he would
have made out a strong case.

Prof. Bert omits to state what effect is produced on Respiration

1 Notwithstanding the draughts of oxygen, their pulses rose to 132 and 135,
They experienced a sort of drunken sensation and could neither see nor hear clearly.
One of them commenced to eat and soon stopped ; " and when I made," says M.
Bert, ''a sign to him to continue, he answered me with a gesture of disgust."
Upon their balloon ascent on Mar. 22, 1874, they experienced strong pressure in
the head.

2 Whose death seems to have exercised a deterrent effect upon aeronauts. There
has not been, I believe, any subsequent attempt to reach the elevation at which
they perished, and I have not heard that any one, since 1875, has even soared so
high as twenty thousand feet.

380 TRAVELS A3I0NGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

when his method is adopted ; he ignores the influence of Time, and
argues as if the effect produced in a minute is similar to that
which would be caused in an hour, a day, or a week ; and he sets
an inordinate value upon the apparent checking of the rate of the
pulse, which in itself, apart from other considerations, is of little
moment. He assumes that the rate of the pulse is permanently
accelerated while experiencing low pressures, and bases his recom-
mendations upon that supposition. From the absence in his two
final experiments (the crown of his work) of all reference to the
effect of inhalation of oxygen upon respiration, and there being but
one solitary observation of the temperature of the body (at the end
of Exp. 257), one naturally enquires whether the rate of respira-
tion and the temperature of the body were observed ; and, if they
were, whether a satisfactory result was noted ?

Professor Bert's attention, presumably, was first directed to
acceleration in the circulation upon reduction of pressure through
the frequent references which had been made to the subject by
aeronauts and mountain-travellers. De Saussure was amongst the
first to remark it on land,^ and Gay-Lussac and Biot in balloon.^

1 " Mais de tous nos organes, celui est le plus affecte par la rarete de Pair, c'est
celui de la respiration. On salt que pour entretenir la vie, sur-tout celle des animaux
a sang chaud, il faut qu'une quantite determine d'air traverse leurs poumons dans
un terns donne. Si done I'air qu'ils respirent est le double plus rare, il faudra que
leurs inspirations soient le double plus frequentes, afin que la rarete soit compensee
par le volume. C'est cette acceleration forcee de la respiration qui est la cause de la
fatigue et des angoisses que I'on eprouve a ces grandes hauteurs. Car en meme tems
que la respiration s'accelere, la circulation s'accelere aussi. Je m'en etois souvent
apperfu sur de hautes cimes, mais je voulois en faire une epreuve exacte sur le
Mont-Blanc ; et pour que Paction du mouvement du voyage ne put pas se confondre
avec celle de la rarete de Pair, je ne fis mon epreuve qu'apres que nous fumes restes
tranquilles, ou a peu pres tranquilles pendant 4 heures sur la cime de la montagne.
Alors le pouls de Pierre Balraat se trouva battre 98 pulsations par minute ; celui
de Tetu, mon domestique 112, et le mien 103. A Chamouni, egalement apres le
repos, les memes, dans le meme ordre battirent 49, 60, 72. Nous etions done tous
la dans un etat de flevre."— Fo^/a^'es dans les Alpes, % 2021, Vol. 4, 1796.

'^ In 1804, in balloon, when no higher than 8600 feet, they observed that their
respective pulses rose from 62 to 80, and from 89 to 111.

CHAP. XIX. FACTS. 381

Aeronauts never remain a sufficiently long time at considerable
elevations to be able to say whether the acceleration is temporary
or permanent. De Saussure and others seem to have been under
the impression that it always • accompanies increase in the rate of
respiration. In the passage given on p. 380 from Voyages dans les
Alpes, he states as a fact that '^^at the same time the respiration is
accelerated^^ [under diminution of pressure] ^^the circulation is
also quickened '' ; and from the general tenour of the passage it is
evident he considered that the joint increase in the rate of the
respiration and circulation was continuous, when remaining in a
state of rest at great elevations, at one constant pressure.

This was not our experience amongst the Great Andes of the
Equator. At the first, following the general (and probably the
invariahle) rule with those who sustain a considerable diminution
in pressure in a comparatively short time, there was a large and
very unpleasant increase in the rate of my pulse, accompanied by
a considerable rise in body temperature ; and (although they would
not permit any observations to be made on their persons) I do not
doubt that the same occurred with Jean-Antoine and Louis Carrel,
as they spoke of str6ng feverishness. But while continuing to live
with the barometer standing at 16 '500 inches the pulse slowed
down and ultimately fell to its normal rate ; the temperature of
the body also fell until it got to its normal degree ; and the
subsequent fluctuations which occurred in the rate of the pulse and
in the temperature of the body,'' even whilst sustaining further
diminution of pressure, were only such as could be assigned to
common causes. The righting of our condition occurred in the
ordinary course of nature, without having recourse to artificial use
of oxygen;* and I ask (1) If the unpleasant effects which were
experienced upon Chimborazo [gaspings, feverishness, intense head-
ache, and an indescribable feeling of illness pervading almost the

1 See Appendix F.

2 During the whole journey I did not, personally, consume so much as an ounce
of Chlorate of Potash,

382 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

whole body] were directly due to want of oxygen, why did they
not continue while we remained at a pressure of IG'oOO inches ?
and (3) In what way should I have benefited my circulation and
temperature (when both became normal) by taking draughts of
oxygen ?

It is clear, as regards the pressures [elevations] we dealt with
(which it is interesting to observe embraced those at which Prof.
Bert urged contimcous inhalation^ namely, 5 to G,000 metres above
the sea), that the artificial use of oxygen was not necessary ; and,
further, that the temporary increase in the rate of the circulation
and in the temperature of the body, and the other conjoined dis-
agreeables, could not have been directly due to rarefaction of the air
or want of oxygen (although they occurred under diminution of
pressure), and that they must have been produced, as it is sug-
gested on p. 374, by some cause which was itself only temporary.

In a discussion that took place in Paris, at the Academic de
Medecine, after the death of Croce-Spinelli and Sivel, M. Colin
remarked that the gas in the human body must needs have a
tendency to expand under diminution of external pressure. This
was pointed out a century earlier by Haller' and others. Prof.
Bert, however, refused to believe that this expansion could produce
an important effect, although he could not deny that it occurred.
During his Experiments 256 and 257, there were evidences that it
did occur,^ and he made the following observations upon them.
" Amongst other phenomena which persisted, notwitlistandiny the
inspiration of oxygen, because they depend entirely ujoon the dimi-
nution in the density of the air, I mention the gaseous evacuations
. . . respecting which neither aeronauts nor mountain-travellers
have spoken. ^^^ They are, no doubt, caused by expansion of
internal gas, consequent upon diminution in external pressure.

' In Experiment 256 there are the following records. "11.25; gaz s'ecliappant
par en haut et par en bas." " 11.31 ; gaz s'echappent, et cependant le ventre reste
un peu gonfle." "11.47; des gaz s'echappent par la bouehe et I'anus." "11.48;
encore gaz." "11.52; encore gaz."

2 This has not been due to non-familiarity with the 'phenomena.'

CHAP. XIX. 3I0UNTAIN SICKNESS. 383

Prof. Bert, in mentioning them, got close au fond du sujet, and
then skipped away from an nnpleasant topic. Was this because
the facts did not agree with his theory ? He seemed to fail to
perceive that the released gas was only that which found a ready
outlet, and to take no note of that which remained in the body,
without the possibility of immediate escape.

There are strong grounds for believing that the sudden dizziness
and headaches, the slight hemorrhages, the ' mortal pangs ' and
' drunken sensation,^ of which so many have had experience either
on land, in balloon, or when sustaining artificial diminution in
pressure, and the insensibility and fatal hemorrhages which have
occurred in the most extreme cases, have all been caused by
internal pressure ; and that the degree of intensity of the effects,
and their earlier or later appearance, depend upon the extent of the
diminution in pressure, the rate at whicli it is reduced, and tlie
leiigth of time it is experienced. An unlimited number of combina-
tions can be produced when to these are added the complications
arising from the effect on respiration of rarefaction of the air, and
differences in individual constitutions.

The various affections which have been classed together, con-
fused and confounded, under the single term Mountain-sickness,
are fundamentally caused, as I see the matter, by diminution
in atmospheric pressure, which operates in at least two ways ;
namely, (A), by lessening the value of the air that can be inspired
in any given time, and (B) by causing the air or gas within the
body to expand, and to press upon the internal organs. The
results which ensue from A are permanent {i.e. so long as the
cause exists), and are aggravated the more pressure is reduced.
The effects produced by B may be temporary and pass away when
equilibrium has been restored between the internal and external
pressure ; or they may be fatal, under very large and rapid reduc-
tion in pressure.'

' Of nausea and vomiting I have no experience. Tliey did not happen in the
Andes, and they have never occurred either to myself, or to men in my employment,

384 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xix.

It follows, if the facts have not been misinterpreted, that the
evils coming under B will be minimized (in mountain-travellers)
by gradual ascent, and may even be entirely avoided by keeping a
constant watch over the rate of the pulse and the temperature of
the body. But from the effects on respiration none can escape.
,In every country, and at all times, they will impose limitations
upon the range of man ; and those persons in the future, who,
either in pursuit of knowledge or in quest of fame, may strive to
reach the loftiest summits on the earth, will find themselves con-
fronted by augmenting difficulties which they will have to meet
with constantly diminishing powers.

or in people with whom we have been casually associated, on any mountain, in any
part of the world. I imagine that these unpleasant features (though undoubtedly
occurring in a certain percentage of men and other animals under diminution in
pressure) must be principally due to peculiarities of individual constitutions, or to
want of judgment. Our indisposition to eat at great elevations (low pressures) has
been noticed. It is not impossible, if we had done violence to our inclinations, that
we should have paid a penalty.

A TROPICAL UKEAM.

CHAPTER XX.

RETURIn" to GUAYAQUIL — CONCLUSION.

Although our work amongst the Great Andes of the Equator was
completed upon arrival at Chuquipoquio, a Public Duty still
remained to be performed. It had been concluded from the tame-
ness of my attitude on the 17th of January [see p. 89] that
travellers could be defrauded with impunity^ and be kept prisoners
without fear of consequences. In the Public interest, it was desir-
able to correct this idea. The road-measuring was a slow operation,
and when the people attached to the Tambo, out of curiosity came
to inspect us, they afforded a convenient opportunity for a dis-
course to them upon the iniquity of their ways ; and I emphasized
my remarks in a manner which I trust left such an abiding imjjres-
sion as will render it less likely in the future that an Englishman
will be robbed in this neighbourhood.

We departed from Riobamba on the 8th of July, intending to
take what is termed the Railway Route to Guayaquil ; and, mount-

3 D

386 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xx.

ing the slopes that enclose the basin on the south, arrived at dusk
at the village of Nanti (10,669 feet). The next j^lace being a good
distance away, we stopped at the highest house or hut, which was
occupied by some half-Indians. In the night there were wailings
and lamentations, and Campana came to ask if I would sell a
candle, as the mother was dying, and there was not a light of any
sort to be found m the Avhole village !

Next morning, five and a half hours of hard going brought us
to the village of Guamote, and here we struck the southern con-
tinuation of the Moreno (or Quito) Eoad.^ At this part, and until
we diverged from it in the afternoon of July 10, it was mostly in
excellent condition, — a fine, broad highway, more than sufficient
for the wants of a thickly-populated district, though passing over
bleak, uncultivated moorland {paramo), which it would be too
complimentary to term a howling wilderness. From Guamote to
the end of this day's journey, we neither met nor passed either
man or beast, and the natural repulsiveness of the surroundings
was heightened by skulls and skeletons lying on each side of the
road, of unburied men who had perished in one of the revolutionary
combats.^ At 5 p.m. we came to a large (apparently deserted)
Hacienda, called Galti, and a little farther south halted for the
night at a hut (11,772 feet) about three hundred feet above the
road.

On the 10th, we travelled without seeing a house or person
until we caught sight of the village of Alausi on the other side of a

^ I could not learn what direction the road takes between Guamote and Chuqui-
poquio, or even whether that section v/as completed. On the Route Map it is not
laid down to the south of Guamote, as we moved too quickly to observe its numerous
changes of direction ; but it is to be understood that we travelled over the high road
between Guamote and the place where it was quitted, opposite to Alausi. South of
Guamote it rises to a considerable elevation. I stopped at what appeared to be the
highest point for a reading of the mercurial barometer, and found there that it was
about 11,362 feet above the sea. It descended upon Galti, and rose again to about
11,500 feet.

2 Through this tract of country (Sibambe to Riobamba) it is proposed to carry
the Railway which is to be a joy to holders of Ecuadorian bonds !

CHAP. XX. DESCENT THROUGH THE FOREST. 387

deep valley, and then stopped perplexed, not knowing how to get
to it, or where to go. A casnal man, who tnrned np at the right
moment, said that by breaking away to the west we could make a
short cut to the Bridge of Chimbo (the terminus of the Railway).
We followed his advice, and, after many windings through a wild,
wooded country, found ourselves at dusk at the commencement of
the descent towards the Pacific ; plunged down the forest-covered
slopes, and at 7 p.m. were brought to a stand by darkness when
about 9000 feet above the sea. Not a soul had been seen since
the casual man. All of us went to bed supperless, as the food was
nearly exhausted. Off again soon after sunrise, we descended 4400
feet without a break, and then came to a diminutive Hacienda,
called Cayandeli, where a solitary man in possession declared there
was nothing to eat.

During the last two days, the route had skirted the eastern
side of the Range of Chimborazo. The slojoes which we had now
to descend were at its extreme southern end. Since leaving
Riobamba, views had been confined either to the immediate sur-
roundings or to a few miles away, and Chimborazo and its allies
were invisible. The same, too, was the case with the country on
the east. We passed Sangai without seeing it, or any of the
mountains in its vicinity. On entering the forest, the range of
vision became even more circumscribed by the tortuous bends of
the ever-winding track. Sometimes it was ill-marked, overgrown
and readily lost.^ We went astray, and at night on the lltli were
still in the jungle, and retired to rest, supperless, on the top of the
packing-cases.

Except for the pangs of hunger, and a growing apprehension

that the steamer at Guayaquil would be missed, this descent

through the forest would have been enjoyable. In the course of a

day, the nakedness of the Interior changed to the luxuriance of

the Tropics ; the increasing warmth was grateful ; and presently

1 The descent commenced at about 11,160 feet above the sea, and continued
without intermission for more than 9000 feet. We saw the barometer rise six inches
and three-quarters upon the 11th of July.

TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xx.

CHAP. XX. A FRUITFUL LETTER. 389

on the morning of the 12th, passed through forest-trees rising
150 feet high, mast-like, without a branch, laden with a parasitic
growth. Then the sky began to be seen, a vista opened out — we
had arrived at the Valley of the Chimbo.

The Bridge was a wooden structure, spanning the River just
before it turned abruptly to the west. The Railway was hidden
away in jungle, and had to be discovered. There was no station or
train ; nor house or hut ; nor person or means of procuring infor-
mation. The right bank of the river formed the Terminus. The
line ran up to the edge of the stream, without stops to prevent the
train running into the water, and looked as if it had been cut in
half by the torrent. The only indication of civilization w^as a
contractor's shed, mounted on wheels.^ Campana went down the
rails in search of life, and learnt that a train 7niglit arrive to-day,
ov perliajis it would come manana. We waited in hungry expecta-
tion (paying off the arrieros in the meanwhile), and about twelve
o'clock tlie train hove in sight, bringing three persons and nothing
more.

Shortly before leaving Quito, General Veintemilla spontane-
ously favoured me with a letter to the Railway authorities, direct-
ing them to afford every attention, assistance, etcetera. This letter
was . shewn to the persons in charge of the train, and they were
informed that we were famished, and ready to 23urchase any food
that could be spared. The President's letter bore fruit. The
Conductor brought out two small pine-apples,^ and presented them
with many polite phrases, — the pine-apples were mine ; he himself
and all that he had was mine, and so forth. I tried to huy, but he
would not hear of it ; and, as there was no time to waste, the

1 On this journey we were victims of the pleasantry of a person at Riobamba,
who informed us that it would take two days to get to the Bridge of Chimbo, where
there was a capital hotel; and that we should find plenty of food on the way. Seeing
no reason to doubt the information, surplus provisions were cleared out at Riobamba,
and we started with only a day's supply. Potatoes were obtained at Nanti, Guamote
and Galti, but after the latter place nothing whatever could be procured.

a Local products, worth perhaps ten cents apiece.

390 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xx.

pine-apples were cut up forthwith into five portions — the donor
consuming a share.

The train ran as far as the first station smoothly, and there the
engine went off the track. While affairs were being rectified, I
sent into the village, and having acquired the materials for a good,
square meal, entertained the Conductor as my guest. " Now,"
thought I, " that piue-apple account is balanced."

At Yaguachi, after again expressing my obligations, I was
about to leave, when the Conductor put his hand on my shoulder
and stopped me. '' The fares ! " General Veintemilla's letter was
comprehensive, and might have covered anything from special
trains downwards, and I remarked that it seemed to imply free,
transit. " No,^' was the reply, made with admirable readiness, '' it
embraces everything except that." ^' How much ?" " Three pesos
and a half apiece." I paid the amount like a lamb, and was going
off, when the Conductor again stopped me. '' There is the bag-
gage." " How much ?" I paid his charge, but there still seemed
to be something on his mind. '^ Is there anything else ?" " Yes,
Senor ; ycmr Excellency has forgotten to pay for the pine-apples !"^

1 The Ecuadorian Railway was commenced under the auspices of the Govern-
ment. It is now in the hands of a Company, and its construction, I am informed,
is being pushed on actively. In 1888, the section was opened from Duran (opposite
to Guayaquil) to Yaguachi, and it is said that several kilometres are finished beyond
the Bridge of Chimbo (now called Chinibo). From this latter point to Sibambe is
only 15 miles in a direct line, but the distance by the railroad (as laid out) will be
50 miles, and upon this section there will be a rise of 7727 feet.

I have no information as to the direction in which it is proposed to carry this
line (after passing Sibambe) beyond that which is furnished in the Report from Mr.
Alfred St. John (Quito, July 14, 1891), where it is stated that " a French syndicate
has obtained a concession from the Equatorian Congress for the purpose of carrying
the railway from Chimbo to Riobamba, and eventually to Quito, but thus far the
French financiers have been unable to raise the necessary funds. Should a satis-
factory arrangement be made by the Equatorian Government with the bondholders
for the settlement of the foreign debt, British capitalists might inquire into the
feasibility and probable profitableness of such an undertaking, but before embarking
into it very sound guarantees should be exacted."

The line has not yet arrived at Sibambe ; and, should it ever do so, it will come

E. WILSON, DEL.

SELECTIONS FROM THE AUTHOR'S BEDROOM COLLECTION AT GUAYAQUIL.

CHAP. XX. TROPICAL DREAiMS. 391

We went by steam-launch from Yaguachi to Guayaquil and
there separated, — Oampana returning to Quito via Bodegas, and
the Carrels going by steamer to Panama. During the next fort-
night, I lived principally in the hotel called Tlie Ninth of Octoher ;
where, although in a certain sense solitary, I was never without
company. The wonderful exuberance of life chased away drowsi-
ness, and, when sleep came, one's very dreams were tropical.
Droves of mice galloped about at night, and swarms of minute
ants pervaded everything. The harsh gnawings of voracious rats
were subdued by the softer music of the tender mosquito. These,
the indigenous inhabitants, were supplemented by a large float-
ing population ; and, in all, I collected fifty species of vermin in a
single room. A few selections are given in the accompanying
plate from ^my bedfellows at Guayaquil.'^

Eleven years have elapsed since our return to Europe. Due
regard to my ordinary avocations, and various inevitable delays

to the edge of a tract of country without traffic or population. The Bridge of Chimbo
is 1132 and Sibambe is 8859 feet above the level of the sea. Throughout the course
of the fifty miles of line between these two places there will therefore be an average
gradient of 1 in ?A ; but, as it will be impossible to construct the whole with one
uniform grade, some parts will necessarily be steeper. Those who propose to lay
out money on this line might enquire (I adopt the words of Mr. St. John) into "the
feasibility and probable profitableness" of loorking aline with an average gradient
of 1 in 34 during the occurrence of torrential tropical rain, and into the effect of
swiftly running water on loose soil.

From this interesting though brief Report I find that [in 1891] the trade with the
interior is conducted in just the same manner as in 1880. "Goods," it is said, "are
carried on mules, horses, and donkeys. Very heav}^ loads are carried by gangs of
Indians. All the merchandize transported to and from the northern and central
provinces of the Andean region passes through Babahoyo and Chimbo, hut mostly
through the former place. . . The railway is little used for the conveyance of goods
for the highlands, as but few animals can be procured at Chimbo, the present
terminus of the line."

1 Coleoptera(2, 3, 7, 15, 18-24, 27, 28, 35). Orthoptera (16, 25, 26, 32, 33).
Hymenoptera (1, 8-10, 14, 34). Hemiptera (4, 6, 12, 31). Diptera (11).
ScoRPioiss and Spiders (5, 13, 17, 29, 30). These are given upon the scale of
nature. The larger species have been omitted on account of their size, and the
smallest ones from the difficulty of representing them.

392 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap, xx,

have prevented this volume from appearing earlier ; and I much
regret that its publication comes too late to benefit my right-hand
man and trusted assistant, Jean-Antoine Carrel. In the higher
regions, we were at constant war with the elements ; and, in com-
parison with what he and his cousin endured, hard-labour on a
treadmill would have been pleasurable, and rest in a casual ward
would have been luxury. They derived no advantage from the
journey except their hard-earned pay, and I had hoped that this
relation of it might have procured for them some recognition of
their indefatigable industry in the service of science. Men of
their class are indispensable to a worker in elevated regions. They
have been so in the past, and they will be in the future ; and, if it
cannot be done as an act of justice, upon the lower ground of
policy it would be expedient sometimes to acknowledge their
exceptional, unrewarded services.^

No commiseration need be entertained for myself. The enter-
prize was my own seeking, and a traveller should be prepared to
take the sours with the sweets. More than twenty years have
passed since I drew out the plan of a journey amongst the Great
Andes of the Equator. Engrossed by my work, the time has fled ;
and now that the toil is over the labour is forgotten, — an instant
bridges the interval ; and it seems less like a project which has
been accomplished than a Dream that has yet to be realized.

1 Through the sudden death of Jean-Antoine Carrel in 1890, some of the
members of his family were left in straitened circumstances. Upon this being
brought to the notice of the Royal Geographical Society by Mr. Douglas W. Fresh-
field, the Council granted the sum of £21 towards a Fund which was being raised
by the Daily Graphic for the relief of those who were in need ; and enhanced the
value of the donation by a letter, from which the following paragraph is extracted.
"The Council do not, as a rule, consider it within their province to contribute to
Funds of this nature. But they have resolved to make an exception in the present
case in order emphatically to mark their appreciation of the high services rendered
to geographical science by the late J. -A. Carrel. . . by transporting delicate instru-
ments to great heights with such care that on yout return to England they proved
to have suffered no injury whatever."

APPENDIX

APPENDIX. ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR. 395

A._ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR.

The heights entered in the tables at pp. 399-401, have been calculated ^ from
observations of Mercurial Barometers, unless the contrary is pointed out.
Three mercurials were taken to Ecuador, and were made for the journey
by Mr. J. J. Hicks, of Hatton Garden, London. Two of these (marked No.
550 and No. 558) were Mountain Barometers on Fortin's principle, and were
intended for use in the interior, No. 550 being graduated from 32*5 to 10
inches, and No. 558 from 33 "5 to 12 inches. The third barometer (No.
554) of the Kew pattern, was intended for employment at the level of the
sea, and was graduated from 32 to 27 inches. All three read to j^q of an
inch (0-002).

After having been under examination by myself for some time, they were
sent to Kew Observatory for verification, and the certificates which were
given stated that the error of No. 550 was + 0-004, of No. 558 - 0-005, and
that No. 554 was free from error. These barometers remained in my hands
under constant examination and comparison until our departure.

We arrived at Guayaquil on December 9th, 1879, and upon the 10th,
11th, and 12th I took two readings daily of the three mercurials for com-
parison against each other. The mean of the greatest differences between the
three instruments on these six occasions amounted to one-hundredth of an
inch (0-010).

Mr. George Chambers, British Consul at Guayaquil, very kindly volun-
teered to read No, 554 during our absence in the interior ; and he did so at
11 A.M. and at 6 p.m., from December 1879 to July 1880.^ These hours
were considered by us to be the most likely ones at which we should be able
to observe simultaneously.

Nos. 550 and 558 travelled in company as far as the Third Camp on
Chimborazo ; but after that time, as a general rule, I took No. 558 alone to
the greater heights, and left the other below, in reserve. No. 558 accom-
panied us everywhere, and consequently travelled more than No. 550, and
the latter more than No. 554 (left at Guayaquil),

During our stay in the interior I compared the two mercurials against
each other upon all convenient occasions, and perceived a slight increase in
the difference of their readings.

Upon return to Guayaquil, the increase was found to amount to 0*003
of an inch, having been 0-006 at the start, and 0-009 on return. These
two barometers were also compared (upon return to Guayaquil) against No.

1 By Mr. William Ellis, F.R.A.S., of Greenwich Observatory.

2 Mr. Chambers also read Aneroid No. 580 (which was left with him in case of acci-
dent to the mercurial barometer) throughout the same period.

396 ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR, appendix.

554 upon seventeen occasions, and the mean of the extreme differences
between the three instruments was now found to amount to 0*022 of an
inch. From comparison of the readings as a whole, I concluded that No. 554
had taken in some air, but I was unable to determine which of the other two
was most in error.

It seemed desirable, upon return to London, to have all three baro-
meters verified by reference to some acknowledged standard other than Kew ;
and by the kind permission of Mr. Robert H. Scott, F.R.S., they were com-
pared, in September 1880, against the standard of the Meteorological Office.
The certificates given by Mr. Strachan ^ stated that at 30 inches the error of
No. 550 was + 0-017, of No. 554 + 0-030, and of No. 558 - 0*004 of an
inch. Hence it appeared that, since the verification at Kew, No. 554 had
acquired an error of 0*030 of an inch, that No. 550 had increased its error by
0*013 of an inch, and that No. 558 had decreased its error by 0*001 of an
inch. But as one can read on the verniers of these barometers only to 5^0
of an inch, the certificate for No. 558 really amounted to saying that there
was no alteration in the error ; and this was the more satisfactory inasmuch
as No. 558 was the barometer which had travelled everywhere, which haii
been employed upon all the summits, and against which the comparisons had
been made that are recorded in the subsequent sections of this appendix.
My indefatigable assistant, Jean-Antoine Carrel, carried this instrument
throughout the entire journey in the interior ; and to have preserved it
intact, without alteration of error, whilst executing the severe labour incident
upon our ascents, is, I believe, an unprecedented performance.^ I give here-
with reduced facsimiles of the certificate of Kew Observatory and of the
Meteorological Office relating to No. 558.

The altitudes which have been deduced by Mr. Ellis from my obser-
vations of mercurial barometer have been calculated by Guyot's Tables
{Smithsonian Meteorological and Physical Tables) ; and, as he has used the
corresponding observations made by Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil, they gener-
ally differ to some extent from the results of my rough computations on the
spot, where the ' corresponding observations ' were unknown to me.

The determinations which are most deserving of confidence are those
which are obtained from the means of a number of observations, and those
which are least reliable are naturally those which depend upon one observa-
tion only. In several instances, the exceptionally high temperature which
was observed at great elevations has caused me some perplexity. The most
extreme case was upon the summit of Antisana. At this great elevation,
surrounded by snow and ice in every direction for several miles, the tempera-
ture fluctuated during our stay from 44° to 60" Faht., though the sun was con-

'' Who was neither acquainted with my recent comparisons nor with the certificates
previously given at Kew.

2 The manner of packing, transporting, and suspending the two barometers which
were used in the field has been already mentioned. It may be added here that through-
out the whole time they were employed, whilst being moved from one place to another,
they were invariably carried reversed, i.e. with cisterns uppermost. Before they were
reversed, and packed in their cases, the mercury was driven to the tops of the tubes by
means of the cistern screws ; and, after reversal, the cistern screws were turned back
about half a turn, to allow a little play to the mercury.

APPENDIX. ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR. 397

Bar Form B.

KE^A/' OBSERVATORY.— Certificate of Examination
Barometer by /^7L'..<rr:<r::^^r^ , f^4rr:^^j^-^^%^^

Mj'L.*.t.*:Ctk*J, >^r?^^6lt:

Com;pared with the Standard Barometer of the Keiv Observatory.

CORRECTION (including capillary action) -^^^^Q'^^^tTZf^i^'^^H^

Scale of inches examined and found ^^£^C<^^^^^'£^C^^^^T^fi^

corrections to attached thermometer. Yio.&o/S^^S~ /c.^, /^2~6

At 32°

At 42°

At 52°

At 62°

At 72°

At 82°

At 92°

-0'^

ArO'Z^

^0-2^

wi^

+0-/

-vov

-VO'/

Note. — I. — When the sign of the CoiTeetion is + , the quantity is to be added to
the observed scale reading, and when — to be subtracted from it,

II. — Mercurial Thermometers are liable, through age, to read too high ;
the Thermometer ought, therefore, at some future date, to be again tested at the
melting point of ice, and if its reading at that point be found difierent from
the one now given, an appropriate correction should be applied to all the
above points.

Kew Observatory,

y^a^ 187^

Superintendent.

K. 250-1-78.

c/dr/-/z.^ '■p^,i^/rt^tyt^y/i3Lf^J

COERECTIONS to SCALE READINGS of/(BAROMETEll.

at 29-5

at 30-0

at 30-5 atf^- ther--^

— 'OOl^-

-^ c-^

'\Anien the sign of the correetion is +, the quantity is to be added to the observed reading; and when
to be subtracted from it. The corrections given above include those lor TjuLx- error, Capacity, and Capilhirity.

Meteorological OincE. 'X^ Jiteyyi^j^^/t/ 188^3. ._

398

ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR, appendix.

cealed during the whole time, and we were more or less in a cloud. At the
Hacienda of Antisana, which is surrounded by extensive grassy slopes, and is
about 6000 feet below the summit, during our three days' stay, I noted no
higher temperature than 49° Faht. In the calculations for the height of
Antisana the observed air temperature, namely 55° Faht., has been employed ;
and in almost all other cases the observed temperatures have been employed,
and have not been assumed. Yet I cannot but feel that a closer approxi-
mation to the truth might have been obtained (especially in the case of
Antisana) if assumed (and very much lower) air temperatures had sometimes
been used.-

My immediate predecessors in Ecuador, Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel, printed
a list at Quito in 1871 of many hundreds of altitudes which had been deter-
mined by them by mercurial barometer. ^ There is a fair agreement between
their altitudes and my own, and generally a close accordance in cases where
the determinations are from the mean of a number of observations by
each observer. Amongst towns, villages, and farms, the following may be
quoted : —

Whymper.

9,343 feet.

9,141 ,,

9,839 ,,

8,606 „

9,039 „

7,970 „

8,894 „

8,100 ,,

9,323 ,,

10,708 „

13,306 .,

11,629 „

9,400 „

9,217 „

11,805 „

14,480 „

Quito .

Latacunga .

Machachi

Ambato

Riobamba

Cotocachi

Guaranda

Penipe

Cayambe

Mocha

Hac. Antisana

,, Ped regal

,, Candelaria

, , Guachala
La Dormida, Cayambe
Pass of Abraspungo

LIeiss & Stubel.

9,350 feet.

9,190

9,629

8,556

9,180

8,048

8,753

8,104

9,357

10,774

13,370

11,585

9,491

9,190

11,749

14,410

1 In Nature, February 5, 1880, it is eaid, on the authoritj' of Professor Plantamoiir,
"it happens every year that the temperature on the St. Bernard, during several hours,
or even during several days, of December, is higher than that of Geneva. During
December 1879, this anomaly lasted for a longer period of time than usual ; the average
temperature of December on the St. Bernard (2070 metres above Geneva) was 8° "4 C.
higher than that at Geneva. . . . Professor Plantamour observes how difficult it is in
such cases to determine the mean temperature of tlie stratum of air between the two
stations, and how great the error of the barometrical levelling and of the reduction of
the observed pressure to tiie sea-level would be if we applied the barometrical formula to
such cases."

■■' This list, which will be invaluable to future travellers in Ecuador, is more likely
to be procured at Dresden or Berlin than in Quito.

APPENDIX. ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR.

399

No.

Date.

Place of Observation.

Altitude.

No. of
Observa-
tions.

Dec. 16, 1879

Munapamba ....

1.337 feet

„ 16-17, „

Tambo Loma ....

6,700 „

17, „

Tambo Gobierno

10,417 „

,, 18-25, „

Guaranda, level of Plaza .

8,894 „

„ 26-7, „

Chimborazo, First Camp

14,375 „

,, 28-30, ,,

Do. Second do.

16,664 ,,

Jan. 2-3, 1880

Do. Third do.

17,285 ,,

4, „

Do. Summit (see ch. xix)

20,545 ,,

„ 3, 6, ,,

Do., foot of Southern Walls

18,528 „

10.

., 14-15, „

Tambo of Chuquipoquio .

11,704 ,,

11.

,, 18-22, ,,

Ambato, level of Plaza

8,606 ,,

12.

25, „

Latacunga, do. do.

9,141 ,,

13.

?5 5J >»

Summit of Tiupullo ridge

11,559 „

14.

\ Jan., Feb., )
1 and June )

Machachi, level of high road

9,839 ,,

15.

Feb. 2, ,,

Corazon, highest reached W. side

15,131 ,,

16.

^, „ ,,

Do. Summit

15,871 „

17.

„ 8, 10, „

Hacienda de la Rosario

10,356 „

18.

9, ,,

Illiniza, Camp on S. side .

15,207 ,,

19.

M '' ,,

Do. Highest reached S. side

17,023 ,,

20.

14, ,,

Hacienda of Pedregal

11,629 „

21.

15, ,,

Cotopaxi, foot of Yanasache lava

13,455 ,,

22.

16, „

Do. First Camp

15,139 .,

23.

,, 18, 19, „

Do. Second do.

19,500 ,.

24.

,, ,, ,,

Do. Summit .

19,613 ,,

25.

I Mar., May, )
1 and June )

Quito, level of chief Plaza

9,343 ,,

26.

Mar. 19, „

Do. The Panecillo

2,985 .,

* From observations of Aneroid Barometers.

400

ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR, appendix.

No.

Date.

Place of Observation.

Altitude.

No. of
Observa-
tions.

27.

Mar. 5, 1880

Hacienda of Antisanilla .

12,342 feet

28.

" 6-9, „

Do. Antisana

13,306 „

29.

7, ,,

Antisana, highest point attained

17,623 „

30.

,, ,,

Do. foot of glacier, W. side

15,295 „

31.

„ 9-10, „

Do. Camp on .

15,984 „

32.

10, .,

Do. Summit .

19,335 ,,

33.

Pichincha, First Camp

14,007 ,,

34.

,, 22-3, ,,

Do. Second do.

14,992 „

35.

23, ,,

Do. Summit .

15,918 „

36.

„ 27, .,

Quebrada of Guallabamba (top)

9,306 „

37.

- ,.

Do. do. (bottom)

6,472 „

38.

Village of Guallabamba .

7,133 „

39.

., 28-9, „

Hacienda of Guachala

9,217 ,,

40.

,, 30, „

Do. Chuarpongo .

9,665 „

41.

Apr. 2-5, ,,

Cayambe, Camp on . . .

14,762 ,,

42.

3, „

Do. Pointe Jarrin

16,164 „

43.

4, .,

Do. Summit .

19,186 „

44.

8, „

Do. La Dormida

11,805 „

45.

,, 12, ..

Sara-urcu, Camp on

13,754 „

46.

17, ,,

Do. Summit .

15,502 „

47.

20, „

Village of Cayambe .

9,323 ,,

48.

22, ,,

Hacienda of Ocampo

8,192 „

49.

Village of Cotocachi

7,970 ,,

50.

24, ..

Cotocachi, Camp on

14,490 „

51.

,, ,,

Do. Summit .

16,301 ,,

52.

25, ,,

Do. Hut called Htaqui

10,049 ,,

APPENDIX. ALTITUDES DETERMINED IN ECUADOR.

401

No.

Date.

Place of Observation.

Altitude.

No. of
Observa-
tions.

53.

June 8, 1880

Illiniza, Camp on N. side

15,446 feet

54.

9, .,

Do. Highest reached N. side

16,922 „

55.

14, ,.

Village of Mocha

10,708 „

56.

Highest point of the Paramo )
between Mocha and Riobamba S

11,879 ,,

57.

June- July ,,

Riobamba ....

9,039 ,,

. 12

58.

June 16, ..

Village of Penipe

8,100 .,

59.

Hacienda of Candelaria

9,400 ,,

60.

,. 17-18, ,,

Camp in Valley of Collanes

12,540 „

61.

20, „

Do. Valley of Naranjal

13,053 .,

62.

28, ,,

Carihuairazo, Camp on

13,377 „

63.

29, .,

Do. Summit of W. peak

16,515 „

64.

July 1, ,,

Pass of Abraspungo .

14,480 ,,

65.

• ' j> "

Chimborazo, Fourth Camp

14,359 „

66.

2, ,,

Do. Fifth do. .

15,811 ,,

67.

3, „

Do. Summit (see ch. xix)

20,475 „

68.

•' >5 "t

Do. Halt for snow-line

16,703 „

69.

5, .,

Do. Sixth Camp .

13,353 ,,

70.

9, „

Village of Nanti

10,669 „

71.

M M

Road between Guamote and Galti

11,362 „

72.

10, ,,

Camp above Hacienda of Galti .

11,772 ,,

73.

„ „ „|

Commencement of the descent ]
towards the Pacific . S

11,160 ,,

74.

M ,,

Camp in forest

9,000 ,,

75.

11, ,,

Hacienda of Cayandeli

4,600 „

76.

Last camp, near Bridge of Chimbo
From obeervations of Aneroid Barometers

1,430 „

402 RANGE OF THE BAROMETER IN ECUADOR, appendix.

B.— THE RANGE OF THE BAROMETER IN ECUADOR.

The remarkable stability of the barometer in Ecuador has been frequently-
noticed. It seems to have been first publicly pointed out by La Condamine,
who said that, at Quito, he found the greatest difference (during a year ?)
hardly exceeded a line and a half/ This amount is equal to 0*133 of an
English inch.

Shortly before my departure for Ecuador, M. Boussingault presented a
Memoir to the French Academy of Sciences ^ dealing with this subject, and
quoted 2 "11 millimetres as the (mean ?) diurnal variation at Quito. My
movements were too rapid to permit of a series of observations at any one
point to determine the daily range, or the periodical variations, and circum-
stances did not allow me even upon a single occasion to read the barometer
for twenty-four consecutive hours. But so far as my observations extended
they supported or confirmed previous reports respecting the small range of
the barometer in this country. The greatest difference I observed in any
one day in the interior was 0*134 of an inch, at Riobamba, on June 24,
1880 ; and the greatest at the level of the sea was 0*092 of an inch, at
Guayaquil, on July 18, 1880. The violent storms which often raged seemed
to affect the barometer scarcely, if at all, and the variations in the height of
the mercurial column were as much due to differences in the air tempera-
ture as to any alterations in pressure.

The highest readings recorded by Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil (30 feet
above sea level) were : —

In Dec. 1879 (max. of obs. on 16 days) 29*970 inches.

„ Jan. 1880 ( ,, „

„ Feb. ,, (

,, Mar. ,, (

„ April ,, (

,, June ,, (

,, July ,, (

The above readings are reduced to 32° Faht.

J " Nous avons eprouve a Quito pendant des annees entieres, que sa plus grande
difference ne passe guere une ligne et demie. M. Godin a le premier remarque que ses
variations, qui sont a peu pres d'une ligne en vingt-quatre heures, ont des alternatives
assez regulieres, ce qui etant une fois connu, donne lieu de juger de la hauteur moyenne
du Mercure, par une seule experience." — Relation abregee d''un Voyage fait dans Vln-
terieur de VAmerique meridionale, par M. de la Condamine ; Paris, 8vo, 1745, pp. 21-23.
See also Journal du Voyage, etc., par M. de la Condamine ; Paris, 4to, 17.51, p. 109.

2 A resume of this was printed in the Comptes Eendus, vol. 88, Nos. 23, 24 ; pp.
11.58-1165, 1240-1243, June 9 and 16, 1879, under the title Determination de la . hauteur
du mercure dans le barometre sous Vequateur ; amplitude des variations diurnes baro-
metriques a diverses stations dans les Cordilleres, par M. Boussingault.

22 ,

) 29*910

20 ,

) 29*971

23 ,

) 29*921

30 ,

) 29*959

11 ,

) 29-943

10 ,

) 29-925

APPENDIX. RANGE OF THE BAROMETER IN ECUADOR.

403

April was the only month upon which he observed every day at 11 a.m. and
6 P.M., and the extreme difference between his readings in that month
amounted to 197 of an inch. '

An Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory was established at
Quito while Garcia Moreno was President of the Republic, and in October
1878 this institution commenced to publish a Bulletin,"^ containing baro-
metric observations, made daily at 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and 10 p.m. I was informed
at Quito, in 1880, that the barometer employed was not at the Observatory,
and was at a much lower level, at the extreme opposite (southern) end of the
city ; but since then its position appears to have been changed.^ From this
publication I have constructed the following table, embracing the period
between September 1879-August 1880 inclusive : —

Max. reading in the Month

Min. reading in the Month at

6 A.M.

2 p.m.

10 P.M.

6 a.m.

2 p.m.

10 P.M.

1879^

, Sept. .

. 548-41

548-40

548-47

546-84

546-72

546-84

Oct. .

. 548-38

548-12

548-41

546-73

546-69

546-39

Nov. .

. 547-82

548-28

548-36

546-79

545-63

546-63

Dec. .

. 548-66

549-30

549-12

545-82

545-84

1880,

, Jan. .

. 548-43

548-40

547-88

547-74

548-07

Feb. .

. 547-87

547-44

547-77

547-00

546-54

547-08

' ,,

March .

. 548-81

547-58

547-80

547-19

546-47

546-30

April .

. 547-70

547-0O

547-86

545-86

544-54

545-95

May .

. 547-93

548-02

548-98

545-90

545-41

546-20

June .

. 547-96

547-91

548-53

545-60

545-09

546-14

July .

. 548-56

547-74

548-61

545-84

546-81

547-00

Aug. .

. 547-78

546-93

547-88

546-76

545-08

546-88

The readings are in millimetres reduced to 32° Faht.

The highest recorded reading in the twelve months is 549-30 mm., on
December 1, 1879, and the lowest 544-54 mm., on April 14, 1880 ; and
the difference of these two, or the extreme range recorded in the Bulletin for
this period is 4-76 mm., which is equal to 2*1 Paris lines, or nearly half as
much again as the amount named by La Condamine. As, however, the
observations published in the Bulletin are only for 6 a.m., 2 p.m., and
10 p.m., they do not give the extreme range of the barometer at Quito.

La Condamine said that the barometer at Quito attained its greatest
height at about 9 a.m., and dropped to its minimum about 3 p.m. Boussin-
gault says in Comptes Rendus, 1879, pp. 1158-9, "On salt en effet que, dans
les regions equinoxiales, le mercure, dans le barometre, atteint le maximum

1 In the same month the greatest difference between the readings at Qnito (as
recorded in the Bulletin, which is referred to in the next paragraph) was 0*157 of an
inch.

2 Under the title Boletin del Observatorio Astronomico de Quito^ pvblicado por Juan
B. Men ten. Director del mismo Observatorio. Qnito. Tmprenta nacional.

=* The following note occurs at p. 66 of the Bulletin, dated October 1880: " Desde
el 1° de setiembre se ha variado la colocaciou del Barometro lo que explica la diferencia
con los meses anteriores.'

404

RANGE OF THE BAROMETER IN ECUADOR, appendix.

de hauteur entre 8 et 10 heures du matin ; qu'il descend ensuite jusque vers
4 heures de I'apres-midi ; qu'il est a la hauteur minima entre 3 et 4 heures,
pour rem outer jusqu'a 11 heures du soir, sans arriver toutefois a la hauteur
a laquelle il etait a 9 heures du matin ; qu'il s'abaisse enfin jusqu'a 4 heures
du matin, sans toraber aussi bas qu' a 4 heures du soir ; qu'il recommence
alors son evolution. C'est la, du moins, ce qui a lieu generalement."

The observations published in the Quito Bulletin do not always accord
with this statement. In some months, the means of the 2 p.m. observations
are higher instead of lower than the means of those at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.,
and it will be seen from the table at p. 000 -that the very highest reading of
the entire year is one at 2 p.m. The following observations, however, made
by myself at Machachi, so far as they go, follow the law as stated by
Boussingault.

At Machachi. Bar. No. 558 (reduced to 32° Faht.).

1880.

10 A.M.

11 A.M.

2 P.M.

6 P.M.

7.20 P.M.

Inches.

Jan. 26

...

21-135

., 28

...

21-147

,, 29

...

21-114

...

„ 29

21-108

„ 30

21-163

...

„ 30

21-114

„ 31

21-159

...

Feb. 1

...

21-096

...

21-092

., 5

...

21-120

,, 11

...

21-134

„ 27

...

21-099

...

„ 28

21-127

...

„ 29

21-179

June 7

...

21-167

,, 10

21-131

Means

21-179

21-165

21-131

21-111

21-139

The smallness of the differences in pressure in Ecuador, and the regu-
larity of the variations, render that country particularly suitable for carry-
ing out such experiments as it is still desirable to make with the baro-
meter ; and there is probably no other region on or near to the Equator
where observations can be made with such facility between the heights of
7000 to 16,000 feet.

APPENDIX. COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER. 405

C— COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID AGAINST THE
MERCURIAL BAROMETER.

Aneroids were carried to Ecuador to endeavour to ascertain whether the
means of the readings of several, or of a number, would or would not accord
with the mercurial barometer at low pressures.

It has long been known that the indications afforded by a single aneroid
are apt to be of a very deceiving nature, even at moderate elevations ; but it
seemed to me possible if several, or if a number were employed, that one
might, by inter-comparison, discriminate between those which went most
astray and those which held closely together ; and that, by adoption of the
means of the readings of the latter, a decent approximation might be obtained
to the truth, possibly even at great altitudes. It may be added that I wished
this might prove to be the case ; for the portability of aneroids, the facility
with which they can be read, and the quickness of their action, would render
them valuable for many purposes, if their indications could be relied upon.

Eight aneroids were taken. One of these, by Casella, marked No. 580,
had been made for an earlier journey ; and, through being only graduated to
20 inches, was of no service for comparison at great heights.^ The seven
remaining aneroids were constructed expressly for the expedition, and were
under trial and examination for nearly twelve months before our departure.
They were selected from picked instruments, and only those were taken
such as were, so far as one could tell, in all respects as perfect as could be
produced.^ These seven aneroids were marked A-G. A, B, and C were
graduated from 31 down to 15 inches, and D, E, F, G were graduated from
31 down to 13 inches, — a range which I thought would be sufficient for my
purposes.^

It became apparent at an early stage of the journey, a. that the whole of
the aneroids had acquired considerable errors ; h. that they differed amongst
each other to a very large extent ; and c. that neither means of the whole,
nor means of those which held closest together, nor means of any combination,
would give decent approximations to the truth. The more evident this
became the greater importance I attached to the preservation of the mer-
curials. Comparisons of the aneroids against the mercurials were neverthe-

1 This was left with Mr. Chambers at Guayaquil, as a reserve for him, in case accident
befell the Standard Mercurial ; and he read both instruments during the whole of our
absenre in the interior.

2 I abstain, however, from mentioning the names of the makers (to whom I am much
indebted), lest the remarks which follow should be construed to their disadvantage.

s It proved to be inadequate.

406 COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER, appendix.

less continued until the end of the journey ; ^ and after two months' experience
in the interior the behaviour of the aneroids in ascending and descending
was so well ascertained that one might, I think, have made use of their
indications to determine differences of level without committing very great
mistakes.

In the following pages, I propose first to give some of my experiences,
and then to draw such conclusions as appear to be warranted.'-

§ 1. Shortly before my departure from London, I made (on October 25,
1879) a final comparison of the aneroids against the mercurial barometer.
Only one of the aneroids corresponded exactly, and of the others some were
too high and some were too low, the greatest difference between them
amounting to 0*235 of an inch, and the mean of the whole showing an error
of + 0'148 of an inch.

§ 2. Our ship stopped a clear day (November 20, 1879) at Jamaica, and
1 took the opportunity to carry the aneroids to the top of the Blue Mount-
ains,^ comparing them against the mercurial before starting and upon return,
and comparing them against each other at the highest point attained. The
following is the complete record, and it will be seen from it that the mean

No. of Barometer.

At start.

At top.

On return.

Aneroid 580

29-980

25-430

29-975

29-850

25-500

29-850

29-800

25-250

29-800

29-700

25-120

29-650

39-850

25-400

29-880

29-800

25-300

29 750

29-750

25-350

29-700

29-800

25-310

29 700

Extreme differences

0-280

0-380

0-325

Mean of aneroids .

29-816

25-332

29-788

Merc. bar. No. 554 .

29-876

. . .

29-854

Mean error of aneroids

- 060

- 066

error of the aneroids (which in London was + 0-148) had changed on arrival
at Kingston to — 0-060, and upon return in the evening of November 20
it was still further increased to — 0-066.

J In all the comparisons which are made throughout this paper the readings of the
mercurial barometer are reduced to 32° Fahf;.

2 Paragraphs 1-10 should be read in connection with the tables at pp. 412, 413.

3 Drove to Gordonstown, walked thence to Newcastle, and on until we came to a
notch in the mountains commanding a view of the northern side of the island. Read the
aneroids at this place.

APPENDIX. C03IPARIS0NS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER. 407

§ 3. Comparisons were again made at Colon and Guayaquil, and at
neither of these places (at the level of the sea) was there any further in-
crease in the mean error of the aneroids ; but at Munapamba (where we
commenced to mount the Pacific range of Ecuador) their difference amongst
each other had risen to 0*500 of an inch, and the mean error was increased
to- 098 of an inch.

§ 4. At Tambo Gobierno (the culminating point of the road over the
Pacific range of Ecuador), 10,417 feet above the sea, the mean error of the
aneroids had risen to — 487 of an inch, and the extreme difference of their
readings amounted to 0-715.

§ 5. With the descent on the other side the aneroids came more closely
together, but their mean error continued to augment, — being upon arrival
at Guaranda- (8894 feet) -0-520, and it rose in one week to —0-655.
The ' greatest difference ' also continued to increase, and it stood on Christmas
Day at 0-800 of an inch. The following record showing the continual
increases in the errors, will be found interesting.

No. of Barometer.

Dec. 18, 1879.

Dec. 20, 1879.

Dec. 23, 1879.

Dec. 25, 1879.

Aneroid A

21-700

21-600

21-170

20-960

20-940

20-870

21-460

21-430

21-450

21-390

21-500

21-440

21-220

21-030

20-950

20-800

21-400

21-380

21-300

Extreme differences . .

0-530

0-740

0-760

0-800

Mean of aneroids . . .

21-408

21-333

21-321

21-233

Mean Merc. bar.

21-928

21-912

21-934

21-888

Mean errors of aneroids .

-0-520

-0-579

-0-613

-0-655

§ 6. Upon December 26, 1879. we encamped on the Arenal (14,375
feet), at the foot of Chimborazo, and on the morning of the 27th the mean
error of the aneroids was found to be —0-737, and their greatest difference
0-880.

§ 7. We then moved up to the Second Camp on Chimborazo (16,664
feet , the mean error continuing to rise, and amounting upon December 30
to -0-903.

§ 8. Upon arrival at the Third Camp (17,285 feet) I found that com-
parisons at greater heights would have to be made between five aneroids

1 As aneroid 580 was left at Guayaquil, the comparisons are now between the seven
remaining instruments.

2 Aneroid C was lost or stolen shortly before arrival at Guaranda, thus reducing the
number under comparison to six.

408 COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER, appendix.

only, as the error which B had acquired was so large that we had already-
got beyond its range. The mean error of the aneroids at this point amounted
to —0-974, and their greatest difference to 1-120 inches.

§ 9. The aneroids D and E were alone taken to the summit of Chim-
borazo on the first ascent, January 4, 1880, and these two were taken
because they were working better than the others. The readings on the
summit are instructive.

Merc. bar. No. 558 .
Aneroid D
do. E .

14-110 inches.

13-050

12-900 (by estimation).

The mean of the two aneroids is seen to be 12*975 inches, and the
error of this upon the mercurial —.1-135 inches. I defer comment to a
later point.

§ 10. Their prolonged residence upon Chimborazo seriously affected the
constitutions of aneroids F and G. The index of the latter instrument
became immovable, and the former was afflicted with a quivering action
which set observation at defiance. Comparisons for the remainder of the
journey were thus restricted to A, B, D, E only, and they are given in the
tables upon pp. 21-23 so far as is necessary to support the statements, — a.
that the aneroids acquired considerable errors ; b. that they differed amongst
each other to a very large extent ; and c. that their means were far from the
truth.

§ 11. After we had been three to four weeks in the interior, the aneroids
A, B, D, E were found to hold pretty constantly together (or, speaking more
correctly, their movements were harmonious), and they seemed to have
acquired their maximum errors for the pressures at which they were used.^
Of the above four instruments B had the largest index-error, and the following
table shows that it remained tolerably constant. It ihen became interesting

Date.

Place of Observation.

Merc. bar. 558.

Aneroid B.

Error of B.

Jan. 14, 1880

Chuquipoquio

19-683 inch

17-820 inch

- 1-863 inch

Feb. 8, „

Hac. de la Rosario

20-805 „

19-100 „

- 1-705 ,,

„ 9, „

Illiniza (S. side) .

17-239 ,,

15-400 ,,

- 1-839 „

,, 16, ,,

On Cotopaxi .

17-431 ,,

15-650 „

- 1-781 „

. 26, „

Machachi . .

21-142 „

19-360 ,,

- 1-782 ,,

Mar. 28, „

Hac. Guachala

21-618 „

19-950 ,,

- 1-668 .,

May 15, ,,

Quito ....

21-631 „

19-990 „

- 1-641 ,,

June 8, ,,

Illiniza (N. side) .

17-222 „

15-400 .„

- 1-822 „

to observe whether aneroids which had acquired such large index-errors
could be usefully employed for the determination of differences of level.

1 See the last column of the table at p. 413.

APPENDIX. C03IPARIS0NS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER, 409

g 12. Upon the journey to the north of Quito I carried mere. bar. No.
558 and aneroids A and B, and upon arrival at the top of the great ravine
of Guallabamba took simultaneous observations of the mercurial and the
aneroids. At the bottom of the ravine, two hours and a half later, readings
of all three were repeated with the following result : —

Date. Barometer. Read at top. Read at bottom.

Mar. 27, 1880 Merc. bar. 558 (red. to 32° Faht.) 21-692 23-929

do. Aneroid A 21-140 23-400

do. do. B 19-940 22-200

The rise of the Mercurial Barometer was 2 '237 inches,
do. do. Aneroid A ,, 2 -200 ,,

do. do. „ B ,, 2-260 ,,

§ 13. The foregoing experiment is a descending one employing two ane-
roids, and the next is an ascending one in which three were observed. Upon
the occasion of the attempt to ascend Uliniza from the north, I read the
three aneroids A, B, D before departure from Machachi (9839 feet), and did
the same at our camp (15,446 feet).

Date.

Barometer.

At Machachi (9 a. m.)

At Camp (6 p. m.)

June 8, 1880

Merc. bar. 558

21-176 inches

17-222 inches.

do.

Aneroid A

20-650 ,,

16-810 „

do.

do. B

19-530 „

15-400 „

do.

do. D

20-290 „

16-380 „

The fall of the Mercurial Barometer was 3 954 inches.
The mean fall of the three aneroids was 3-960 ,,

§ 14. Upon the second ascent of Chimborazo I carried aneroids A and E
to the summit, reading them at the fifth camp and at the top. Aneroid A
became much out of range, and I therefore cannot give its reading.

Date.

Barometer.

Fifth Camp (4 a. m.)

Summit (2 p. m.)

July 3, 1880

Merc. bar. 558

16-931 inches

14-044 inches.

do.

Aneroid E

16-060 „

12-990 ,,

The fall of the Mercurial Barometer was 2-887 inches,
do. Aneroid E ,, 3-070 ,,

§ 15. The examples which are quoted in §§ 12, 13, 14 give the closest
coincidences that I can mention from amongst experiments of this order.
Upon the whole, it appeared to me that better values could be obtained
from aneroids by taking the 7nean of ascending and descending observations, ^
than by taking the means of either ascending or descending ones alone, and
I now give an example in which this method of treatment was adopted.

On March 19, 1880, I carried the aneroids A, B, D, E from our lodging

^ When ascent and descent are only a short space of time apart.

410 COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER, appendix.

at Quito to the top of the hill called the Panecillo, on this occasion reading
the ' scales of feet ' upon them before departure, and again upon return to
Quito. From the means of the ascending and descending readings, the
summit of the Panecillo appears to be 651*25 feet above the level of the
principal Plaza of Quito, which from the mean of twenty-two observations of
mercurial barometer by myself is found to be 9343 "3 feet above the sea. I
have no observation of mercurial barometer on the Panecillo ; and, if I had,
should still quote by preference the independent observations of Messrs.
Reiss and Stiibel, who, from the mean of a large number of observations of
mercurial barometer, give for the height of Quito 9350 feet, and for the
Panecillo (two observations of m. b.) 10,007 feet. Their difference of level
therefore is 057 feet, or 5 feet 9 inches more than the height indicated by
the aneroids.

Barometer.

At Quito, in
Hotel.

Summit of
Panecillo.

= a rise of

On return
to Quito.

= a fall of

Aneroid A

10,080 feet

11,325 feet

645 feet

10,760 feet

565 feet

do. B

12,310 „

13,050 ,,

740 „

12,390 „

660 „

do. D

11,260 „

11,950 „

690 „

11,340 ,,

610 „

do. E

11,000 „

11,680 „

680 „

11,060 „

620 ,,

Mean of ascending readings 688*75 feet.
Mean of descending do. 613*75 feet.
Mean of ascending and descending 651*25 feet.

§ 16. As the journey approached its termination, I became curious to
observe how the aneroids would read against the mercurials upon return
to the level of the sea. We arrived at Guayaquil again on July 13, 1880,
and the barometers were compared against each other from the 16th to the
27th. ^ The error of aneroid A upon the 16th was — 0*361 of an inch, and
of E — 0*321, but by the 27th their respective errors diminished to — 0*341
and — 0*291. I have not allowed the index of either to be altered. They
continued to recover in the course of time ; and I found, upon January 9,
1885, that aneroid E possessed an index-error of +0*160, which was very
nearly its error upon the last comparison in 1879 before our start, when
it was seen to be + 0*182. Aneroid A did not recover with the same
rapidity. Upon January 9, 1885, its error had diminished to — 0*200, and
in fiv^e years more it recovered another tenth of an inch.

§ XI. In the tables at pp. 414, 415, the comparisons of the aneroids A and E
are presented separated from the others. These two instruments were those
which were most consistent in their behaviour, and were those wnich were
most frequently employed. From inspection of the tables it will be immedi-
ately apparent that ' a good return ' is of little value as a test of working.

1 See the tables at pp. 414, 415, for this and for the succeeding paragraph.

APPENDIX. COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER. 411

Upon the last comparison before departure, these two aneroids possessed almost
exactly similar index-errors ( + 0-172 and +0-182), and upon return to Guaya-
quil their index-errors were not far apart (— 0-341 and —0-291). It would
have appeared legitimate to conclude that their working had closely corre-
sponded, but inspection of the last two columns of the table shows that such
a conclusion would have been extremely erroneous. The case of E, taken by
itself, is still stronger. This, in course of time, ' returned ' almost perfectly ;
and inasmuch as this instrument (like all the others) was tested before de-
parture, inch by inch, against the mercurial barometer under the air-pump,
and corresponded almost perfectly, it would have seemed right to conclude
that its readings in the interim must have been nearly free from error. Yet
this instrument, at the greatest height at which it was compared, was found
to possess a minus error of an inch and a fifth, the value of which, at the
elevation in question, exceeds two thousand feet (see § 9).

§ 18. Some of the more important conclusions which must be arrived
at from consideration of the results of these comparisons of the aneroid
against the mercurial barometer are so obvious that I consider it unnecessary
even to point them out ; and, in the remarks which follow, I endeavour
more to indicate the ways in which the aneroid may be advantageously
used, than to emphasize the objections which might be urged against its
employment.

A. It seems possible, without reference to a standard, by intercomparison
of a number of aneroids, to discriminate between them, and to select those
in which most confidence should be placed.

B. That, with aneroids of the present construction, it is unlikely that
decent approximations to the truth will be obtained at low pressures, even
when employing a large number of instruments. The errors of the whole
series (A — G) were invariably minus ones, and in the worst cases amounted
to as much as two inches upon the mercurial barometer.

C. That differences of level at great heights (low pressures) may be
determined with considerable accuracy with aneroids, even when they have
acquired very large index-errors.

D. That in observations of this description a nearer approach to the
truth is generally obtained by employing the mean of ascending and descend-
ing readings than by taking ascending or descending readings separately.

E. That the test which is commonly applied of comparing for brief
periods (minutes or hours) aneroids against mercurial barometers under the
air-pump is of little or no value in determining the errors which will appear
in aneroids used at low pressures for long periods (weeks or months).

F. That, similarly, comparisons of aneroids against mercurial barometers
in balloon for a brief space of time afford little or no clue to the errors
which will be exhibited by the former when subjected to low pressures for

412 COMPARISONS OF THE ANEROID BAROMETER, appendix.

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prolonged periods. [The balloon test is only a repetition of the air-pump
test. In the former case the instruments are exposed to a natural, and in
the latter case to an artificial diminution of pressure ; and if the duration of
time is equal in each case the results ought to correspond exactly.]

G. That very material errors may be fallen into by regarding ' a good
return ' at the level of the sea as a proof of correct working, at low pressures,
of aneroids of the present construction.

H . That for the detection of such errors as aneroids (of the present con-
struction) will exhibit when subjected to low pressures for a length of time,
aneroids should be subjected artificially to similar pressures for a long
period.

Ai'PENDix. UPON BOILING-POINT OBSERVATIONS. 417

D.— UPON BOILING-POINT OBSERVATIONS.

Henderson's boiling-point apparatus, and nine boiling-point thermometers,
were taken lest accidents might occur to the barometers. The thermometers
were self -registering ; they were constructed in two series, in order that the
scales might not be too finely divided ; and they were verified in the custom-
ary manner.

As the barometers were not injured, it was unnecessary to depend for
altitude upon the indications afforded by the boiling-point of water. Obser-
vations of the boiling-point were, however, made at seventeen different stations
from 8400 to 19,500 feet above the sea, for the purpose of comparison against
the. harometers. These observations have been worked out for altitude by Mr.
W. Ellis, F.R.A.S., but are not quoted in this volume. As a general rule,
three or more thermometers were boiled at each station, and in the calcula-
tions for altitude the means have been used of the observations which were
made on each occasion.

It was found, in all cases, that the mean boiling-point at every station
was higher than the corresponding barometer would lead one to expect,^ from
the tables which are generally accepted as authoritative, namely, Eegnault's,
as given in the Smithsonian Tables, Meteorological and Physical, third edition,
Washington, 1859. The divergencies became more pronounced the higher
we ascended, and this leads to the opinion that the tables are not perfect.

I venture to take the opportunity to make a few general remarks upon
the method of attempting to determine altitudes by observations of the
boiling-point of water ; but I offer them with great diffidence, as they will
be found somewhat opposed to the expressed opinions of eminent travellers,
and of persons in authority.

Of late years, the practice of deducing altitudes from observations of the
l)oiling-point of water has to a considerable extent superseded the older
method of obtaining them by observation of the mercurial barometer ; and
it has been assumed (I think, erroneously) that the former method is but
slightly inferior to the latter in accuracy, and is superior to it in facility.
I think that any person who will, even at the level of the sea, take the
trouble to examine the matter for himself, will speedily be convinced that
the boiling-point method is one which must always be liable to considerable
errors iipon the mercurial barometer ; that mountain-travellers who have had
experience of the two methods — more especially those who have experimented
upon the summits of lofty peaks — will concur with me in saying that the
occasions are very rare indeed upon which observations of the mercurial baro-
meter cannot be made, even upon those on which high wind and severe cold are
experienced at inconvenient situations ; and that, upon the other hand, occa-

1 The heights deduced from the boiling-point observations are consequently lower
than the truth.

418 UPON BOILING-POINT OBSERVATIONS. appendix.

sions are numerous on which, from one cause or another, it is impossible to
make observations of the boiling-point of water under such conditions as will
allow the observations to be of value.

The experimentalist, when at considerable elevations, will soon learn to
distrust single readings or the use of single thermometers, through noticing how
seldom his observed boiling-points accord with the ' corresponding barometric
pressure,' or agree with each other ; and will consider it necessary to employ
at least several thermometers and to repeat his observations. I find, in
practice, that to do this out of doors, under favourable conditions, occupies as
great a length of time, or greater, than to take two careful observations
of the mercurial barometer, a quarter of an hour apart. ^ So far as con-
venience and rapidity of observation are concerned, the balance appears to be
in favour of the mercurial barometer when the conditions are favourable, and
more distinctly so when the conditions are adverse.

Assuming that the thermometers which are employed are boiled in the
correct manner, ^ and with the utmost care, there yet remain several possible
causes of error, ^ and with thermometers of the kind usually employed, in
which a degree of Fahrenheit's scale seldom extends over more than the
eighth of an inch, I think an error of half a degree and upwards is probable
in a single observation of one thermometer.* To obtain a more extended
scale (to lessen the probability of error) the traveller must either carry an
embarrassing number of thermometers, or else employ instruments of unusual
and inconvenient length.

Near the level of the sea, the value of one degree of the Fahrenheit scale
is about 0'590 of an inch on a barometer, and one inch of the barometer is

> The amount of time actually consumed in making a series of observations of the
boiling-point is longer than is necessary for several observations of mercurial barometer ;
as in the former case undivided attention must be given to the operations, while in the
latter it is only necessary to inspect the instrument at intervals, other things being done
in the meanwhile. As it is seldom possible to remain more than an hour upon a very
elevated summit, every minute is of importance.

2 They should not be boiled in open vessels, nor immersed in the water. This, how-
ever, is not unfi-equently done. See A note on an alleged ascent of CMmhorazo in 1856,
by Messrs. Betny and Brenchley, in the Alpine Journal, vol. x. pp. 226-31, 1881. Also
see Livingstone's Last Journals., vol. ii. p. 198, 1874. Livingstone enters in his Journal,
less than eleven months before his death, that " there is a full degree of difference between
boiling in an open pot and in Casella's apparatus." It may, I think, be taken as certain
that Dr. Livingstone would not have made this entry at such a time if he had been pre-
viously acquainted with the fact.

3 Amongst others, the liability of mercurial thermometers to read too high by age.
See the Kew certificate at p. 397 (of the attached thermometer), and compare the error
therein stated with the error on return as stated in the Meteorological Office certificate.

Also see S. W. Baker's Albert N'^Yanza., vol. ii. pp. 362-3, 8vo, 1866, for an instance
of a boiling-point thermometer acquiring an error of -t- 0*8 of a aegree Faht. in 4f years.
This thermometer was made by Casella, and was supplied by the Royal Geographical
Society.

See also Sir S. W. Baker's Ismailia., vol. ii. p. 562, 8vo, 1874, for an example of a
boiling-point thermometer apparently changing its index-error from + 0*20 to — 0*10
Faht.

< Much larger differences than half a degree Fahrenheit may be observed between
thermometers which are sent out by makers of the best repute, accompanied by 'verifi-
cations' stating only infinitesimal errors.

APPENDIX. UPON BOILING-POINT OBSERVATIONS. 419

about equal to 900 feet of altitude. The value of a degree of the Fahrenheit
scale is therefore equal to about 531 feet.

At the height of the summit of Mont Blanc the value of one degree of
the Fahrenheit scale is about equal to 0-375 of an inch on a barometer, and
at this elevation the value of one inch on a barometer is about equal to 1600
feet. In this case, the value of a degree of the Fahrenheit scale is therefore
about 600 feet.

From comparison of the means of a number of observations of the boil-
ing-point of water, made by myself in Ecuador, against the mercurial barome-
ter, when the latter was standing at 16*522 to 17 '427 inches, the value
of a degree of a Fahrenheit scale, at that pressure, appears to be 613
feet.

From the previous paragraphs it is seen that the value of each degree of
a thermometric scale is greater the higher we ascend. It is consequently
necessary, in order to obtain as good proportional results at a high level as at
the level of the sea, that personal errors, and errors arising from method or
instrumental defects must be lesseiied. This, in practice, will not, I think, be
found possible. The higher we ascend the greater are the difficulties of
observation.

Should it, however, be found possible to obtain absolutely perfect instru-
ments, and to observe without introducing personal errors, it remains to be
seen whether the observations will accord with the ' corresponding barometric
pressure.' ^

Few observations for comparison have hitherto been made of the boiling-
point of water against the mercurial barometer at great heights, and I am not
acquainted with any which have been made at greater elevations than those
by Dr. (now Sir Joseph) Hooker in 1848-50, by the brothers Schlagintweit
in 1855-56, and by M. Wisse in Ecuador in 1844-49. Dr. Hooker quotes ^
observations for comparison at seventeen stations above 13,000 feet, his
loftiest being the Donkia Pass, 18,466 feet. The brothers Schlagintweit
record^ observations at five stations above 13,000 feet, their most elevated
point of observation being their camp on Ibi Gamin, 19,323 feet.* M.
Wisse ^ observed at only two stations above 13,000 feet. My own series

1 The remarks which accompcany the section in the SmUhsonian Tables (Section iv.
p. 96') upon the thermometrical measurement of heights well deserve attention. " It
may be seen that the heights determined by the means of the temperature of boiling-
water are less reliable than those deduced from barometrical observations. Both derive
the difference of altitude from the difference of atmospheric pressure. But the tempera-
ture of boiling -water gives only indirectly the atmospheric pressure, which is given
directly by the barometer. This method is thus liable to all the chances of error which
may affect the measurements by means of the barometer, besides adding to them new ones
peculiar to itself, the principal of which, not to speak of the differences exhibited in the
various tables of the force of vapour, is the difficulty of ascertaining with the necessary
accuracy the true temperature of boiling-water."

"^ In Himalayan Journals, vol. ii. p. 458 ; 8vo, London, 18.54.

=* In their Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia, vol. ii, p. 28 ; 4to,
London and Leipzig, 1862.

* At p. 336 of the same volume, the height of this camp is said to be 19,094 feet.
I am not aware which determination is the more correct one.

5 The observations are given by Regnault in Annates de Chimie et de Physique, vol.
28, p. 123, 1850.

420 UPON BOILING-POINT OBSERVATIONS. appendix.

includes thirteen stations at greater heights than 18,000 feet, the loftiest
being the camp close to the summit of Cotopaxi (19,478 feet), the summit of
Antisana (19,335 feet), and the summit of Cayambe (19,186 feet). The
mean height of these three positions as deduced from observations of mer-
curial barometer is 19,333 feet. Five, four, and two thermometers respect-
ively were boiled at them, and the mean error of the final results as deduced
from the boiling-points at the three grouped stations is — 513 feet.

In comparing this unsatisfactory record with the observations made by
Dr. Hooker, I find that the majority of his boiling-point results showed con-
siderable minus errors ; and that at his loftiest station (18,466 feet) the
error was — 600 feet.

Upon examining the observations of the brothers Schlagintweit, * I .find
that their boiling-points were always higher than the simultaneously-observed
barometers would lead one to expect (and, so far, they are in harmony with
the observations by Dr. Hooker and myself). Their errors were, however,
small as compared with ours, and their results as a whole are, I think, more
harmonious than it is reasonable to expect can be obtained by a method
which includes so many possibilities of error.

The information afforded by M. Wisse is not so copious as one could
desire. The observations which are quoted in Aniiales de Chimie et de
Physique were made by him at twenty-six different places between June
1844 and May 1849, but only five of his stations were higher than 10,000
feet above the sea, and only two of these reached 15,000 feet. It is not said
whether the recorded boiling-points were single observations or the means of
several ; nor is it stated whether the recorded observations are the whole
which were made, or are only selected instances in which the boiling-point
observations closely accorded with the barometric ones. From their remark-
able accordance with each other it seems not improbable that this was the
case.

From examination and comparison of these observations as a whole it
would seem by no means certain that the barometric pressure corresponding
to any given boiling-point has been well ascertained ; and it would appear
desirable that more comprehensive and thorough investigations in this direc-
tion should be made, if it should continue to be the practice to attempt to
determine the heights of lofty positions by observation of the boiling-point
of water.

But should such observations be made as would determine absolutely the
boiling-point of water corresponding to every inch of the barometer, the
fundamental objection to the use of this method would not be overcome,
namely, that it is a cumbrous procedure, a method built up upon another,
which must always (as is stated in the remarks already quoted from the Smith-
sonian Tables) be " liahle to all the chances of error which may affect measure-
ments by means of the barometer, besides adding to them new ones peculiar to
itself.^'' This objection applies (although not with equal force) to all observa-
tions made by this method, in every region and at any height.

^ It should be noted that the Schlagintweits employed thermometers 21 inches long.
This probably permitted greater refinement of observation.

APPENDIX.

TEMPERATURES IN ECUADOR.

421

E.— TEMPERATURES IN ECUADOR.

The temperatures experienced in Ecuador were moderate both as regards
heat and cold. During our stay at Guayaquil in December 1879, the
highest temperature observed in the shade was 85° Faht., at 1,30 p.m.,
on the 10th ; and on our return in July 1880, 79° at 3 p.m. on the 21st.
The highest recorded by Mr. Chambers during our absence in the interior
occurred on December 21, 23, 25, 1879, on each of which days he observed
87*5 at 6 P.M. Although these figures do not represent the maximum in
the shade at Guayaquil, they are not, I believe, far beneath it. Temperature
at this place appears to have a very small range ; so far as I could learn,
seldom rising to 90°, and not generally falling much below 65° at night.
The lowest temperature I noted during our stay was 70" at 7.30 a.m., on
July 27, 1880. From Mr. Chambers's observations it would appear that the
months December and January are distinctly warmer than June and July.'

Moving, as we did in the interior, from one place to another, at continu-
ally varying elevations, it was not easy to tell whether one month was or
was not notably warmer than another ; but from the Bulletin which is
printed by the Observatory at Quito ^ I am able to form the following table,

Maximum observed on

Minimum observed on any

Date.

any Day

of the Month.

Day of the Month.

December 1879

22-8

(8th)

4-8 (1st)

January 1880

23-7

(2nd)

7-4 (2nd)

February ,,

24-0

(27th)

7-0 (12th, 13th, 22nd)

March ,,

22-9

(3rd)

5 6 (24th)

April

22.5

(14th)

7-0 (20th)

May

22-3

(3rd)

8-0 (2nd, 20th, 21st)

June ,,

22-8

(17th)

6-5 (3rd, 30th)

July

22.6

(19th)

6-7 (6th)

August , ,

22-6 (2nd and 5th)

8-5 (12th)

September ,,

23-4

(23rd)

4-1 (10th)

October ,,

20.2

(9th)

5-6(5th, 6th, 7th, 11th)

November ,,

20-3

(29th)

6-8 (14th, 22nd)

1 The head-coverings worn by Ecuadorians show that the sun's rays are seldom so
powerful as to be dangerous. In Guayaquil the Panama straw hat is very generally used,
and at Quito and other towns in the interior tall black hats are not unfrequently seen on
well-to-do people, while the lower orders use ordinary felt wideawakes ;ind straw hats. I
did not see any persons in the whole country wearing helmets and protective devices
such as are commonly employed in tropical or hot countries. In the interior the sun is not
often perfectly clear at raid-day, and only on one occasion did I feel that its rays were
sufficiently fierce to be dangerous, namely, at Guachala (9217), in March 1880, at 8 a.m.

2 Boletin del Ohservatorio Astronomico de Quito. Inprenta nacional. The tempera-
tures are given in the centigrade scale.

422 TE3IPERATURES IN ECUADOR. appendix.

from which it appears that the highest maximum (24° -0) of the entire twelve
months December 1879-November 1880, inclusive, occurred upon February
27th, and the lowest (20° '2) upon October 9th, the difference between the
highest and lowest maxima of the twelve months thus being only 3° -8 centi-
grade (=6° '84 Faht.).

The Bulletin does not record a single occasion on which the freezing-
point was touched at Quito. The lowest minimum (3°. 5) of the entire
twelve months occurred on the 12th of August, and the highest (8°'0) upon
three days in May, their difference amounting to only 4° "5 C. (= 8°*1 Faht.).

From inspection of the whole of the observations printed in the Bulletin,
it appears that October was the coldest and January was the warmest month
at Quito ; and that the difference of the means of these two months amounted
to less than 4° Faht. ! ^

The range of the entire year, that is to say, the difference between the
lowest minimum and the highest maximum, amounted at Quito to only
20° -5 C. (=36° -9 Faht.).

Temperature at several of the towns at which we stopped in the interior
appeared to be influenced by position as well as by altitude. Thus, Machachi
(9839), although scarcely 500 feet higher than Quito, was found by us to be
a chilly place as compared with the capital. At the former place it was
seldom as warm as 60° Faht. at mid-day, while at Quito I noted a higher
temperature than this upon several occasions at 10 p.m. Ambato (8606)
though only 433 feet lower than Riobamba (9039), seemed to possess a cheer-
ful degree of warmth ; and the latter place, although less elevated, appeared
to be colder than Quito. At Ambato temperature ranged from 65-70° Faht.
at mid-day during our stay ; and our impression agreed with the opinion
current in the country that it is a warm place. Upon this account Ecua-
dorians come here from various parts when holiday-making. ^

The highest temperature in the shade that we experienced anywhere in
the interior, out of doors, was at the bottom of the ravine of Guallabamba
(6472) on March 27, 1880. This was 75° -5 Faht. The lowest recorded dur-
ing the whole journey was the minimum of the night of February 18, 1880,
near the summit of Cotopaxi, namely, 13° Faht. Upon several occasions
rapid changes of temperature occurred in a short space of time, the most
remarkable experience of this description being that which was referred to
in the chapter upon Antisana. This, as well as the temperatures observed
at other summits, has been dealt with elsewhere.

Temperatures which will possess a wider interest are the nocturnal minima
observed at our camping-places, from their being the only recorded observa-
tions of this nature made at high elevations near the Equator. They are
brought together in the annexed table, arranged according to altitude, and

1 The thermometric observations are made at Quito at 6 a m., 2 p.m., and 10 p.m.
The means referred to in the above paragraph are those of these three sets of observations.
I have reason to believe that the observations were not made at the Observatory, but at
a lower and more sheltered position at the extreme opposite end of the city.

2 The temperatures quoted in this paragraph are indoor ones, but owing to the ill-
fitting windows and to the doors opening directly into the air they differ little from shade
temperatures out of doors.

APPENDIX.

TABLE OF NOCTURNAL MINIMA.

423

Date.

Place of Observation.

Altitude.

Temp.

Faht.

April

7, 1880

La Dormida, Cayambe .

11,805 feet

38° -5

8, ,,

Do. do.

J. ,,

40-5

June

25, „

Camp near Chuquipoquio

11,850 ,,

33-5

17, „

Do. in Valley of Collanes

12,540 ,,

29°

18, „

Do. do. do.

,, ,,

33°

19, ,,

Do. do. do.

,, ,,

33-5

April

15, „

Do. at Corredor Machai

12,779 ,,

39-5

June

20, „

Do. in Valley of Naranjal

13,053 „

34°

Mar.

6, ,,

Hacienda of Antisana

13,306 „

34°

i, ,,

Do. do.

,, ,,

36-5

8, „

Do. do.

,, ,,

33-5

June

37, „

Camp on Carihuairazo .

13,377 „

33°

April

13, „

Do. Sara-urcu

13,754 „

35°

July

3, ,.

Fourth Camp, Chimborazo

14,359 ,,

30°

Dec.

26, 1879

First do. do.

14,375 „

21°

April

2, 1880

Camp on Cayambe

14,762 „

27°

3, „

Do. do.

V ,,

31°

4, „

Do. do.

,. ,,

24-5

5, ,,

Do. do.

,, ,,

24°

Mar.

Second Camp on Pichincha

14,992 ,,

29°

Feb.

16, „

First Camp on Cotopaxi

15,139 ,,

25°

19, ,,

Do. do. do. .

,, ,,

28°

20, „

Do. do. do. .

,, ,,

24°

June

8, „

Camp on N. side of llliniza

15,446 ,,

26-5

July

Fifth Camp, Chimborazo

15,811 „

25°

Dec.

28, 1879

Second do. do.

16,664 ,,

21°

30, „

Do. do. do.

,, ,,

20-5

31, ..

Do. do. do.

„

20-5

Jan.

5, 1880

Third do. do.

17,285 ,,

17°

Do. do. do.

,, 'J

20°

Feb.

18, „

Camp at summit of Cotopaxi

19,500 ,,

13°

424 TEMPERATURES IN ECUADOR. appendix.

were observed with a registering spirit minimum thermometer, by Casella,
which, as a rule, was placed about four feet on the windward side of the
tent, in free air, 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet from the ground. The most dis-
cordant of the readings is the minimum of the night of December 26 1879
[See pp. 40, 41.]

If the difference of altitude of the extremes of the series is divided by
the difference of the observed minima it will be found that the diminution
of temperature is at the rate of one degree Fahrenheit per 296 feet.^ If the
observation near the summit of Cotopaxi should be rejected (on account of
the possibility that it was considerably influenced by radiation), ^ and the
remainder alone accepted, it will be seen that the diminution is at the rate
of one degree for about 267 feet.^ It would seem probable that the observa-
tion near the summit of Cotopaxi was not greatly affected by the warmth of
the cone.

It cannot, however, be doubted that the circumjacent air is often con-
siderably affected by radiation from heated rock-surfaces rising high above
the line of perpetual congelation. Bare rock, much above the snow-line,
when exposed to sunshine, often becomes heated to such an extent as to be
almost painful to the touch. This warmth is subsequently parted with, and
nmst affect the temperature of the neighbouring air to a material extent, —
in calm weather, I imagine, to a much greater distance than four feet, the
recognised distance for placing thermometers from the soil. As the object,
when observing for minimum temperatures, is to register the lowest temper-
atures that occur, the end in view is most likely to be attained by placing the
thermometer to windward, and as far as possible from the earth ; and should
this be done on high and isolated summits the observations will not perhaps
be much influenced by terrestrial radiation, though they can scarcely fail to
be affected by it to some small extent. I acted upon this supposition, and
hence the thermometer was not placed in one invariable position.

1 "We possess a great accumulation of observations of mountain temperature, but
the results are only loosely accordant, and appear to indicate that the rate of increase
depends in some coneiderable degree on the season of the year and the local situation of
the place of observation. If we assemble the most accordant, and especially those cases
where the heights ascended have been considerable, and trigonometrically determined,
we find an average decrement of 1° of Fahrenheit's thermometer for every 100 yards of
ascent. ... As a general average deduced from balloon ascents, 400 feet per degree of
Fahrenheit would seem to be preferable to 300.'" Meteorology, by Sir John F. W.
Herschell, pp. 22-3, 2nd ed., Edinburgh, 1862.

2 See the chapter upon Cotopaxi.

8 This is a considerably less value per degree than has been found by Mr. Glaisher
upon his balloon ascents (where the observations have not been affected by terrestrial
radiation). See the Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science,
1862-66.

APPENDIX. UPON BODY TEMPERATURE. 425

F._UPON BODY TEMPERATURE.

The temperatures given in the following table were taken at the sugges-
tion of Dr. W. Marcet, F.R.S., with a Hicks' patent clinical registering
thermometer, graduated to fifths of degrees, of the kind which is now almost
invariably employed ; and the observations were made exclusively upon
myself, by placing the bulb of the thermometer as far back under the tongue
as was convenient, and allowing it to remain there (the mouth being closed)
for ten to twelve minutes. In most cases the observations were repeated,
though I find in practice that the highest obtainable temperature is regis-
tered within ten minutes.

My temperature is slightly lower than that which is considered the
standard (namely 98° "4 Faht.), and the mean of a large number of observa-
tions taken midway between meals would probably be close to 98° '3 (pro-
vided the observations were made at the same part of the body). The
extremes of the temperatures given in the table are both higher and lower
than I have remarked (upon myself) on any other occasions.

After the first experiences upon Chimborazo were over, no effect was
observed that could be attributed to diminished pressure, and the most severe
cold that we experienced seemed scarcely to exert any influence. The low
readings on the summits of Cayambe (97° "1) and Chimborazo (96° "3) must
be ascribed to exertion and to abstinence from food, and principally to the
latter cause. The following details, given in chronological order, will render
any further remarks unnecessary : —

Nov. 21, 28 ; Dec. 10, 23, 1879 (98-05-98-4).— The readings at King-
ston, Colon, Guayaquil, and Guaranda were all taken indoors, before break-
fast. With air temperature ranging from 57° to 80°, and barometer 21*990
to 30'000 inches, bodily temperature varied only one-third of a degree Faht.

Dec. 27 (98*4). — In tent, first camp on Chimborazo, After breakfast,
and before active exertion.

Dec. 28 (100*4). — In tent, second camp on Chimborazo. The recorded
temperature is probably considerably lower than that which was experienced
in the previous night. In the next six days I ate much less than usual ;
and by

Jan. 2, 1880, temperature was reduced to 97*9, at the second camp.

Jan. 8 (98*4). — In tent. Four days after the first ascent of Chimborazo,
temperature had returned to its ordinary level, and deviated very slightly
from it during the next three months.

Jan. 29 (98*45). — Indoors, two hours after dinner.

426 UPON BODY TEMPERATURE. appendix.

Feb. 9 (98*65). — Open air, in shade, at the highest point attained on
the south side of Illiniza. Exertion had been severe and continuous since

8 A.M.

Feb. 18 (98-2). — In tent, close to the summit of Cotopaxi, Taken after
ascending from the first canip (a rise of about 4400 feet). Barometer stood
at 14-798 inches. Experienced headache and gasping for breath on the
18th, but no headache on the 19th. Bodily temperature did not seem
affected at all.

Feb. 20, in tent ; Mar. 6, indoors, do not require mention.

Mar. 10 (98"6). — Open air, on the summit of Antisana. The reading
was taken after a meal. Exertion had been severe and continuous since

6 A.M.

Mar. 22, in cave ; Mar. 25, indoors, do not require mention.

April 3 (99*1). — In tent, camp on Cayambe. Felt feverish, and could
only attribute it to exposure on March 31.

April 4 (97*1). — Open air, on the summit of Cayambe. The reading
was taken one hour after arrival at the summit. Exertion had been con-
siderable, and nothing had been eaten since 4 a.m.

June 8 (97*9). — In tent, camp on north side of Illiniza. In the months
of April and May I was almost continuously unwell, and frequently feverish,
but by the commencement of June bodily temperature had fallen to its usual
level.

June 28, 29 ; July 1 (97-7-98-4).— On Carihuairazo. The differences
recorded on these days are accounted for by the readings having sometimes
been taken before and sometimes after meals.

July 2 (97'8) — In tent. Does not require mention.

July 3 (96 "3). — Open air, on the summit of Chimborazo. There was a
moderately strong and cold wind. Air temperature was 15° Faht. Had
eaten scarcely anything since 5 a.m. This was the lowest record on the
journey.

July 5 (98'25). — In tent. Bodily temperature had by this time risen
again to its ordinary level, and it fluctuated very slightly until return to
Panama.

Aug. 3 (99*2). — Indoors, at Panama. The increase is to be attributed
to the hospitality of the residents on the Isthmus more than to the deadly
nature of its climate. On August 7 the maximum was attained (101°), but
from that time temperature commenced to diminish, and on

Aug. 14, at St. Thomas, with almost the highest air temperature which
was noted on the entire journey (84°), it had again fallen to its ordinary
level.

APPENDIX.

TABLE OF BLOOD TEMPERATURES.

437

Date.

Hour.

Place of Observation.

Altitude
in feet.

Blood
Temp.

Shade

temp, of

air.

1879.

Fahr.

Nov. 21.

8 a.m.

Kingston, Jamaica .

...

98-05

79°

,, 28.

Colon, Isthmus of Panama

...

98-4

80°

Dec. 10.

Guayaquil, Ecuador .

98-2

76°

,, 23.

7.30 „

Guaranda, do.

8,894

98-2

57°

„ 27.

10.30 „

Chimborazo, First Camp .

14,375

98-4

5r-5

„ 28.

1 p.m.

Do. Second do. .

16,664

100-4

49°

1880.

Jan. 2.

7 a.m.

Do. do. do. .

97-9

34-5

„ 8.

11.30 ,,

Do. Third do. .

17,285

98-4

51°

„ 29.

4.30 p.m.

Machachi

9,839

98-45

60°

Feb. 0.

1.25 „

lUiniza, South side .

17,023

98-65

49-5

„ 18.

Cotopaxi, Second Camp

19,500

98-2

55"

„ 20.

12.30 ,,

Do. First do.

15,139

98-

41°

Mar. G.

8.15 „

Hacienda of Antisana

13,306

98-

41°

„ 10.

11.10 a.m.

Antisana, Summit

19,335

98-6

47°

„ 22.

10 p.m.

Pichincha, Second Camp .

14,992

98-1

39°

„ 25.

8 a.m.

Quito . . . .

9,343

98-

57°

Apr. 3.

4.30 p.m.

Cayambe, Camp on .

14,762

99-1

42°

„ 4.

11.15 a.m.

Do. Summit .

19,186

97-1

38°

June 8.

8 p.m.

Illiniza, Camp N. side

15,446

97-9

45°

,, 11.

Machachi

9,839

98-5

60°

,, ,,

6.15 „

Do. ...

98-4

55°

,, 28.

Carihuairazo, Camp on

13,377

98-

51°

»? 11

5.40 ,,

Do. do.

98-1

48°

11 29.

11 a.m.

Do. Summit

16,515

98-4

40°

July 1.

8.30 „

Do. Camp .

13,377

97-7

44-5

9.15 p.m.

Chimborazo, Fifth Camp .

15,811

97-8

36°

„ 3.

Do. Summit

20,498

96-3

15°

„ 5.

9 a.m.

Do. Sixth Camp .

13,353

98-25

52-5

„ 17.

9 p.m.

Guayaquil

98-5

74-5

Aug. 3.

6.45 a.m.

Panama ....

99-2

78°

,, 6.

9.45 ,,

Colon ....

100-6

80°

11 > •

9 a.m.

Between Colon and Jamaica

101-

81°-83°

„ 8.

7.30 ,,

Do. do.

99-

83°

„ 0.

8.30 ,,

Kingston, Jamaica .

98-9

83-5

„ 14.

St. Thomas

98-2

84°

428 HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. app.

G.— HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO.

"On June 9, 1802, the travellers left Quito for Chimborazo, and on
June 33 they climbed almost to the summit of the giant mountain, at that
time regarded as the highest in the world, and attained the height never
before reached by any human being of 18,096 feet.' Upon reaching an
elevation of 15,600 feet, the path, relates Humboldt, became every moment
narrower and steeper. The natives, with one exception, refused to accom-
pany us farther, and were deaf to entreaties and threatenings, maintaining
they suffered more than we did from the rarity of the air. We were left
alone — Bonpland, our estimable friend Carlos Montufar, a half-caste Indian
from the neighbouring village of San Juan, and myself.

"By dint of great exertion and considerable patience, we reached a
greater height than we had dared to hope for, seeing we had been almost
constantly enveloped in mist. In many places the ridge was not wider than
from eight to ten inches ! To our left a precipice covered with snow, the
surface of which shone like glass from the effects of frost. This thin sheet
of ice was at an inclination of about 30°. On the right was a fearful abyss,
from 800 to 1000 feet deep, from the sides of which projected huge masses
of naked rock. We leant over rather more to this side than the other, for it
seemed less to be dreaded than the precipice on our left, where the smooth
sides afforded no opportunity of checking a fall by catching hold of project-
ing pieces of rock, and where the thin crust of ice furnished no security
against being precipitated into the loose snow beneath. ^

" The sloping surface of snow extended to such a distance that light
pieces of dolerite (the ordy substance at hand), when rolled down the incline,
were lost sight of before reaching any resting-place.

"The rock became more friable, and the ascent increasingly difficult and
dangerous. At certain places where it was very steep, we were obliged to
use both hands and feet, and the edges of the rock were so sharp that we
were painfully cut, especially on our hands. . . . The loose position of the
stones upon the narrow ridge necessitated extreme caution, since many
masses that appeared to be firmly attached proved to be only embedded in
sand.

"We advanced all the more slowly, as everyplace that seemed insecure
had first to be tested. Fortunately, the attempt to reach the summit of

» It will be seen at a later point there is a claim to have reached the height of 19,28&
feet.— ^. ir.

2 At p. 308, vol. i., of K. Bruhns' Life of Humboldt the following significant sen-
tence occurs : " We feared nothing so mnch as the half-frozen snow." This is said in
connection with an ascent of Pichincha.— ^. W.

APP. HUMBOLDT'S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. 429

Chimborazo had been reserved for our last enterprise among the mountains
of South America, so that we had gained some experience, and knew how
far we could rely on our own powers. It is a peculiar characteristic of all
excursions on the Andes, that beyond the line of perpetual snow Europeans
are always left without guides just at the point where, from their complete
ignorance of the locality, help is most needed. In everything Europeans are
left to take the lead.

'' We could no longer see the summit, even by glimpses, and were there-
fore doubly anxious to ascertain how much of the ascent had still to be
accomplished. We opened the tube barometer at a spot where the ridge was
wide enough to allow two persons to stand side by side in safety. We were
only at an elevation of 17,300 feet, therefore scarcely 200 feet higher than
we had attained three months previously upon the Antisana.

"After an hour's cautious climbing, the ridge of rock became less steep,
but the mist unfortunately remained as thick as ever. One after another
we all began to feel indisposed, and experienced a feeling of nausea accom-
panied by giddiness, which was far more distressing than the difficulty of
breathing. . . . Blood exuded from the lips and gums, and the eyes became
bloodshot. There was nothing particularly alarming to us in these symptoms,
with which we had grown familiar by experience. Once when upon the
Pichincha, though bleeding did not occur, I was seized with such violent
pain in the stomach and overpowering giddiness, that I sank upon the
ground in a state of insensibility, in which condition I was found by my
companions, from whom I had withdrawn for the sake of making some
experiments in electricity. The elevation then was not so great, being less
than 13,800 feet. On the Antisana, however, at a height of 17,032 feet,
our young travelling companion, Don Carlos Montufar, had suffered severely
from bleeding of the lips. All these phenomena vary greatly in different
individuals according to age, constitution, tenderness of the skin, and pre-
vious exertion of muscular power : yet in the same individual they constitute
a kind of gauge for the amount of rarefaction of the atmosphere and for the
absolute height that has been attained.

" The stratum of mist which had hidden every distant object from our
view began, notwithstanding the perfect calm, suddenly to dissipate — an
effect probably due to the action of electricity. We recognized once more
the dome-shaped summit of Chimborazo, now in close proximity. It was a
grand and solemn spectacle, and the hope of attaining the object of all our
efforts animated us with renewed strength. The ridge of rock, only here
and there covered with a thin sprinkling of snow, became somewhat wider ;
and we were hurrying forward with assured footsteps, when our further pro-
gress was suddenly stopped by a ravine, some 400 feet deep and GO feet
wide, which presented an insurmountable barrier to our undertaking. We
could see clearly that the ridge on which we stood continued in the same
direction on the other side of the ravine ; but I was doubtful whether, after
all, it really led to the summit. There was no means of getting round the
cleft. On Antisana, after a night of severe frost, Bonpland had been able to
travel a considerable distance upon the frozen surface of snow ; but here the

430 HUMBOLDT S ATTEMPT TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. app.

softness of the snowy mass prohibited such an attempt, and the nature of the
declivity rendered it equally impossible to scale the sides.

" It was now one o'clock in the day. We fixed up the barometer with
great care, and found it stood at thirteen inches lliV lines. The tempera-
ture of the air was only three degrees below the freezing-point ; but from
our long residence in the tropics even this amount of cold seemed quite
benumbing. Our boots were wet through with snow-water, for the sand,
which here and there lay on the mountain ridge, was mixed with the
remains of former snow-drifts. According to the barometric formula given
by Laplace, we had now reached an elevation of 19,286 English feet,

"We remained but a short time in this dreary waste, for we were soon
again enveloped in mist, which hung about us motionless. We saw nothing
more of the summit of Chimborazo, nor of the neighbouring snow mountains,
far less of the elevated plain of Quito. We were isolated as in a balloon ; a
few rock lichens were to be observed above the line of perpetual snow, at a
height of 16,920 feet ; the last green moss we noticed was growing about
2600 feet lower. A butterfly was captured by M. Bonpland, at a height of
15,000 feet, and a fly was observed 1600 feet higher ; both had been carried
up into the higher regions of the atmosphere by the currents of air originating
in the warmer plains below.

" As the weather became increasingly threatening, we hurried down
along the ridge of rock, and from the insecurity of our footing found that
greater caution even w^as necessary than during the ascent. We delayed no
longer than sufficed for collecting fragments of rock as specimens of the
mountain structure. We foresaw that in Europe we should frequently be
asked for 'a fragment from Chimborazo.''

"When we were at a height of about 17,400 feet, we encountered a
violent hailstorm, which gave place to snow twenty minutes before passing
the limit of perpetual snow, and the flakes were so thick that the ridge was
soon covered several inches deep. The danger would indeed have been great
had the snow overtaken us at a height of 18,000 feet. At a few minutes past
two we reached the spot where we had left the mules." — Life of Humboldt,
by Karl Bruhns, vol. i, pp. 311-315, London, 1873.

BOUSSINGAULT'S ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND CUIMBORAZO, 431

H — BOUSSINGAULT'S ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND
CHIMBORAZO.

[Ascension au Chimborazo executee le 16 decembre, 1831, par
m, boussingault.]

" Je ne pouvais mieux terminer mes recherches sur les trachytes des
Cordillieres, que par "une etude speciale du Chimborazo. . . . J'expose ainsi
les raisons qui m'ont conduit sur le Chimborazo, parce que je blame haute-
ment les excursions perilleuses sur les montagnes, quand elles ne sont pas
entreprises dans I'interet de la science.

" De Riobamba, le Chimborazo presente deux pentes d'une inclmaison
tres dififerente. L'une, celle qui regarde I'Arenal, est tres abrupte ; et Ton
voit sortir de dessous la glace de nombreux pics de trachyte. L'autre qui
descend vers le site appele Chillapullu, non loin de Mocha, est au contraire
peu inclinee, raais d'une etendue considerable. Apres avoir bien examine
les environs de la montagjie, ce fut par cette pente que nous resolumes de
I'attaquer. Le 14 decembre, 1831, nous allames prendre gite dans la me-
tairie du Chimborazo. ... La metairie se trouve a 3800 metres de hauteur.

" Le 15 a sept heures du matin, nous nous mimes en route guides par
un Indien de la metairie. . . . Nous suivimes en le remontant un ruisseau
encaisse entre deux murs de trachyte, dont les eaux descendent du glacier ;
bientot nous quittames cette crevasse pour nous diriger vers Mocha, en
longeant la base du Chimborazo. Nous nous elevions insensiblement ; nos
mulcts marchaient avec peine et difficulte, au milieu des debris de roche
qui sont accumules au pied de la montagne. La pente devenait tres rapide,
le sol etait meuble et les mulcts s'arretaient presque a chaque pas pour faire
une longue pause, ils n'obeissaient plus a I'eperon. La respiration de ces
animaux etait precipitee, haletante. Nous etions alors precisement a la
hauteur du Mont Blanc, car le barometre indiqua une elevation de 4808
metres au dessus du niveau de la mer.

"Apres nous etre convert le visage avec des masques de tatfetas
leger, afin de nous preserver des accidens que nous avions ressentis sur
I'Antisana, nous commengames a gravir une arete que aboutit a un point
dej^ tres eleve du glacier. II etait midi. Nous montions lentement, et, a
mesure que nous nous engagions sur la neige, la difficulte de respirer en
marchant se faisait de plus en plus sentir, nous retablissions aisement nos
forces en nous arretant, sans toutefois nous asseoir, tons les huit ou dix pas.
. . . Nous atteignimes bientot un rocher noir qui s'elevait au dessus de
I'arete que nous suivions. Nous continuames encore a nous elever pendant
quelque temps, mais non sans eprouver beaucoup de fatigue occasionee par
le peu de consistance d'un sol neigeux qui s'affaissait sans cesse sous nos pas,
et dans lequel nous enfoncions quelquefois jusqu'^ la ceinture. Malgre

432 BOUSSINGAULTS ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO,

tous nos efforts, nous fumes bientot convaincus de Timpossibilite de passer
en avant ; en effet, un peu au dela de la roche noire, la neige meuble avait
plus de quatre pieds de profondeur. Nous allames nous reposer sur nn bloc
de trachyte qui ressemblait a une ile au milieu d'une mer de neige. Nous
etions a 5115 metres d'elevation. II etait une heure et demie. Ainsi
apres beaucoup de fatigues, nous nous etions seulement eleves de 307 metres
au dessus du point ou nous avions mis pied a terre.

"En quelques instans nous etions descendus la ou nous avions laisse nos
mulcts. J'employai quelques momens a examiner cette partie de la mon-
tagne en geologue, et a recueillir une suite de roches. A trois heures et
demie nous nous mimes en route. A six heures nous etions rendus a la
metairie.

"Le temps avait ete magnifique, jamais le Chimborazo ne nous parut
aussi majestueux, mais apres notre course infructueuse, nous ne pouvions le
regarder sans eprouver im sentiment de depit. Nous resolumes de tenter
Tascension par le cote abrupte, c'est-a-dire par la pente qui regarde I'Arenal.
Nous savions que c'etait par ce cote que M. de Humboldt s 'etait eleve sur
cette montagne ; on nous avait bien montre de Rio-Bamba le point oil il etait
parvenu, mais il nous fut impossible d'obtenir des renseignemens exacts sur
la route qu'il avait suivie pour y arriver. Les Indiens qui avaient accom-
pagne cet intrepide voyageur n'existaient plus.

"II etait sept heures quand, le lendemain, nous prenions la route de
I'Arenal. ... A mesure que nous avancions, le terrain s'elevait d'une
maniere sensible. En general, les plateaux trachytiques qui supportent les
pics isoles dont les Andes sont comme herissees, se relevent peu a peu vers la
base de ces memes pics. Les crevasses nombreuses et profondes qui sillon-
nent ces plateaux, semblent toutes diverger d'un centre commun ; elles se
retrecissent en meme temps qu'elles s'eloignent de ce centre. On ne saurait
mieux les comparer qu*a ces fentes que Ton remarque a la surface d'un verre
etoile. A neuf heures, nous fimes halte pour dejeuner a I'ombre d'un
enorrae bloc de trachyte auquel nous donnames le nom de Pedron del
Almuerzo. Je fis la une observation barometrique, parce que j'avais I'espoir
d'y observer egalement vers quatre heures apres midi, afin de connaitre, a
cette elevation, la variation diurne du barometre. Le Pedron est eleve de
4335 metres. Nous depassames sur nos mulcts la limite des neiges. Nous
etions a 4945 metres de hauteur quand nous mimes pied a terre. Le terrain
devint alors tout a fait impracticable aux mulcts ; ces animaux cherchaient
d'ailleurs a nous faire comprendre avec leur instinct vraiment extraordinaire,
la lassitude qu'ils eprouvaient ; leurs oreilles ordinairement si droites et si
attentives, etaient entierement abattues, et pendant des haltes frequentes
qu'ils faisaient pour respirer, ils ne cessaient de regarder vers la plaine.
Peu d'ecuyers ont probablement conduit leur monture k une semblable
elevation ; et pour arriver a dos de mulcts, sur un sol mouvant au dela de
la limite des neiges, il fallait peut-etre avoir fait plusieurs annees d'equitation
dans les Andes.

"Apres avoir examine la localite dans laquelle nous nous etions places,
nous reconnumes que pour gagner une arete qui montait vers le sommet du
Chimborazo, nous devious d'abord gravir une pente excessivement rapide, qui
se presentait devant nous. Elle etait formee en grande partie de blocs de

BOUSSINGAULT'S ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO. 433

roche de toutes grosseurs disposes en talus ; ^a et la ees fragmens trachy-
tiques etaient recouverts par des nappes de glace plus ou moins etendues ; et
sur plusieurs points, on pouvait claireraent apercevoir que ces debris de roche
reposaient sur de la neige endurcie.

*' II etait dix heures trois quarts quand nous avions laisse nos mulets ; tant
que nous raarchions sur les rochers, nous n'eprouvions pas de grande difficulte,
on aurait dit que nous raontions un escalier en mauvais etat ; ce qu'il y avait
de plus penible, c'etait I'attention soutenue qu'il fallait avoir pour choisir la
pierre sur laquelle on put poser le pied avec quelque securite. Nous re-
prenions haleine tons les six ou huit pas, mais sans nous asseoir, et souvent
meme ce repos etait utilise a tailler pour ma collection des echantillons
geologiques. Mais aussitot que nous atteignions une surface neigeuse, la
chaleur du soleil devenait suffocante, notre respiration penible, et par conse-
quent nos repos plus frequens, plus necessaires.

"A 11 heures f, nous achevions de traverser une nappe de glace assez
etendue, sur laquelle il nous avait fallu faire des entailles pour assurer nos
pas. Ce passage ne s'etait pas fait sans danger, une glissade eut coiite la vie.
Nous entrames de nouveau sur des debris de trachyte, c'etait pour nous la
t-erre ferine, et des lors il nous fut permis de nous elever un peu plus rapide-
ment. Nous marchions en file, moi d'abord, puis le colonel Hall, mon negre
venait ensuite ; il suivait exactement nos pas, afin de ne pas corapromettre
la surete des instrumens qui lui etaient confies.

" Bientot nous eumes atteint I'arete que nous devious suivre. Cette arete
n'etait pas telle que nous I'avions jugee dans le lointain ; elle ne portait, a
la verite, que tres peu do neige, mais elle presentait des escarpemens difRciles
a escalader. 11 fallut faire des efforts inouis ; et la gymnastique est penible
dans ces regions aeriennes. Enfin, nous arrivames au pied d'un mur de
trachyte, coupe a pic, qui avait plusieurs centaines de metres de hauteur.
II y eut un moment visible de decouragement dans Fexpedition, quand le
barometre nous eut appris que nous etions seulement a 5680 metres d'eleva-
tion. C'*etait peu pour nous, car ce n'etait pas meme la hauteur a
laquelle nous nous etions places sur le Cotopaxi. D'ailleurs, M. de
Humboldt avait gravi plus haut sur le Chimborazo, et nous voulions au moins
atteindre la station a laquelle s'etait arrete ce savant voyageur. Les explora-
teurs de montagne, lorsqu'ils sont decourages, sont toujours fort disposes a
s'asseoir : c'est ce que nous fimes a la station de la Peiia-Colorada (Roche r-
Rouge). C'etait le premier repos assis que nous nous permettions ; nous
avions tons une soif excessive, aussi notre premiere occupation fut-elle de
sucer des glayons pour nous desalterer.

" II etait midi trois quarts, et cependant nous ressentions un froid assez
vif ; le thermometre s'etait abaisse a 0°, 4. Nous nous trouvions alors en-
veloppes dans un nuage.

" Lorsque le nuage dans lequel nous etions plonges fut dissipe, nous exarai-
names notre situation ; en regardant le Rocher Rouge, nous avions a notre
droite un abime epouvantable ; a gauche, vers I'Arenal, on distinguait une
roche avaneee qui ressemblait a un belvedere ; il etait important d'y parvenir,
afin de reconnaitre s'il etait possible de tourner le Rocher Rouge, et de voir en

434 BOUSSINOAULT'S ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND CHIMBORAZO.

meme temps s'il etait permis de monter encore. L'acees de ce belvedere etait
scabreux, j'y parvins cependant avec I'aide de mes deux compagnons. Je
reconnus alors que si nous poUvions gravir une surface de neige tres inclinee,
qui s'appuyait sur une face du Rocher Rouge opposee au cote par lequel nous
I'avions aborde, nous pourrions atteindre une elevation plus considerable.
Pour se faire une idee assez nette de la topographic du Chimborazo, qu'on se
figure un immense rocher soutenu de tous cotes par des arcs-boutans. Les
aretes sont les arcs-boutans qui, de la plaine, semblent s'appuyer sur cet
enorme bloc pour I'etayer.

" Avant d'entreprendre ce passage dangereux, J'ordonnai a mon negre d'aller
essayer la neige ; elle etait d'une consistance convenable. Hall et le negre
reussirent a tourner le pied de la position que j'occupais, je me reunis a eux
lorsqu'ils furent assez solidement etablis pour me recevoir, car pour les re-
joindre, il fallut descendre en glissant environ 25 pieds de glace. . . .

"Nous avancions avec precaution; adroite nous pouvions nous appuyer sur
le rocher ; a gauche la pente etait effrayante, et avant de nous engager en avant,
nous coramenyames par bien nous familiariser avec le precipice. . . .

"Nous commencions deja a ressentir plus que nous ne I'avions jamais
eprouve, I'effet de la rarefaction de I'air ; nous etions forces de nous arreter
tous les deux ou trois pas, et souvent meme de nous coucher pendant quelques
secondes. Une fois assis, nous nous remettions a Finstant meme ; notre souf-
france n'avait lieu que pendant le mouvement. La neige presenta bientot
une circonstance qui rendit notre marche aussi lente que dangereuse ; il ny
avait guere que trois ou quatre pouces de neige molle ; au dessous se trouvait
une glace tres dure et glissante ; nous fumes obliges de faire des entailles dans
cette glace afin d'assurer nos pas. ... La neige devint plus favorable,
nous fimes un dernier effort, et a une heure trois quarts nous etions sur
I'arete si desiree. La, nous fumes convaincus qu'il etait impossible de faire
plus, nous nous trouvions au pied d'un prisme de trachyte dont la base superi-
eure, recouverte d'une coupole de neige, forme le sommet du Chimborazo.

"L'arete sur laquelle nous etions parvenus avait seulement quelques pieds
de largeur. De toutes parts nous etions environnes de precipices, nos alen-
tours offraient les accidens les plus bizarres. La couleur foncee de la roche
contrastait de la maniere la plus tranchee avec la blaneheur eblouissante de
la neige. De longues stalagmites de glace paraissaient suspendues sur nos
tetes ; on eut dit une magnifique cascade qui venait de se geler.

"Nous etions a 6004 metres de hauteur absolue ; c'est, je crois, la plus
grande elevation a laquelle les hommes se soient encore eleves sur les
montagnes.

"A 2 heures, le mercure se soutenait dans le barometre a 371 mm. 1
(13 pouces 8 lig. \), le thermometre du barometre etait a 7°, 8 C. A Tombre
d'un rocher, le thermometre libre indiqua egalement 7°, 8.

"Pendant tout le temps que nous etions occupes a faire nos observations
sur le Chimborazo, le temps s'etait maintenu de toute beaute ; le soleil etait
assez chaud pour nous incommoder legerement. Vers trois heures, nous aper-
9umes quelques nuages qui se formaient en bas, dans la plaine ; le tonnerre
gronda bientot, au dessous de notre station ; le bruit etait peu intense, mais

BOUSSINOAULT'S ATTEMPTS TO ASCEND CHUIBORAZO. 435

il etait prolonge ; nous pensames d'abord que c'etait un bramido, iin rugisse-
ment souterrain. Des images obsciirs ne tarderent pas a entourer la base de
la montagne ; ils s'elevaient vers nous avec lenteur : nous n'avions pas de
temps a perdre, car il fallait passer les mauvais pas avant d'etre envahis,
autrement nous eussions couru les plus grands dangers, line chute abon-
dante de neige, ou une gelee qui eut rendu le chemin glissant, suffisait pour
enipecher notre retour, et nous n'avions aucune provision pour sejourner sur
le glacier.

'* La descente fut penible. Apres nous etre abaisses de 300^400 metres,
nous penetrames dans les nuages, en y entrant par la partie superieure ; un
pen plus bas, il commenga a tomber du gresil, qui refroidit considerablement
Fair, et au moment oil nous retrouvames I'lndien qui gardait nos mulets, le
nuage langa ^r nous une grele assez grosse pour nous faire eprouver une sensa-
tion douloureuse, lorsqu'elle nous atteignait sur les mains ou dans la figure.

''A quatre heures trois quarts j'ouvris mon barometre au Pedron del
Almuerzo. ... A mesure que nous descendions, une pluie glaciale se
melait a la grele. La nuit nous surprit en chemin ; il etait huit heures
quand nous entrames dans la metairie du Chiraborazo." — Annales de Chimie
et de Physique, par MM. Gay-Lussac et Arago, tome Iviii, 2me serie, pp. 156-
175. Paris, 1835.

I.— DECLARATION OF FRANCISCO J. CAMPANA.

Upon our return to Guayaquil I caused Campana to make a declaration
before the British Consul touching what he knew relating to the second
ascent of Chimborazo. A translation of this document is appended.

[Translation.]

"I, Javier Campana of Quito, hereby declare that upon July 3, 1880, I
accompanied Mr. Edward Whymper to the very highest point of the summit
of Chimborazo. We were also accompanied by Jean-Antoine Carrel and by
Louis Carrel (Mr. Whymper's two Italian mountaineers), and by David
Beltran of Machachi.

" Mr. Whymper placed his tent on July 2, 1880, on the north-west side
of Chimborazo, at a height, so he tells me, of about 16,000 feet, and he pro-
vided for the use of myself and of David the things which were necessary for
an ascent, namely, good strong boots with large nails, warm gloves, and
spectacles to protect the eyes against the glare of the snow, and ice-axes to
help us along.

"We started from the tent at 5'15 on the morning of July 3, 1880, and
at once commenced to ascend towards the summit. The way at first was
over loose stones, but after we had ascended for about 1000 feet we came to
snow, and the remainder of the ascent was entirely over snow, with the ex-
ception of one or two little places where rocks came through the snow. We
stopped to eat on one of these little patches of rock at 8.35 a.m., and
after Mr. Whymper had examined his mercurial barometer he encouraged
us to proceed by telling us that we had already got more than half-way up
from the tent. From this place we saw the sea.

436 DECLARATION OF FRANCISCO J. CA3IPANA. appendix.

"We went on again at 9.5 a.m. and found the snow get steeper and
steeper. We were all tied together with a good strong rope, in case any one
should slip, and except for this and for the things with which we had been
provided I should not have been able to get along at all. Sometimes it was
very cold, and there was much wind, but when we were in the sun it was
very hot. Whether in the sun or in the shade the snow was very soft, and
we sank in deeply, often up to the knees. This was very fatiguing, and it
was owing to this that we took so much longer time in ascending the upper
than the lower i3art of the mountain.

"To break the ascent we zigzagged about, and at one time came round to
the side fronting Guaranda, and then came back to above the place where the
tent was pitched. At last we got on to the top, and could see the two sum-
mits. The snow was very soft indeed here, and we went alon^ very slowly,
and had often to stop to get breath. The highest of the two summits was on
our left hand, that is, upon the north side of the mountain, and we went to
it, without going upon the lower one. As we approached the very highest
point we saw that there was something strange upon it, and when we got up
we found the pole of the flag which Mr. Whymper had put up on January 4,
1880. It stood up about 1^ varas above the snow, and very little of the flag
remained, as it had been torn to pieces by the wind. I took a small piece of
the flag to show to ray friends below, and was filled with joy at being the
first Ecuadorian to reach the summit of the great Chimborazo !

"We arrived on the very highest point of the summit at 1.20 p.m., and
about the same time ashes from Cotopaxi began to fall. They filled our
eyes, noses, mouths, and ears, and made the snow quite black. Mr.
Whymper, however, prepared his instruments, and was at work during the
whole time we were on the summit. He did not once sit down to rest from
the time we left the tent in the morning until the time that we returned to
it in the evening. He took the height of the mountain with his barometers,
and told us that the observations he now made agreed very well with those
which he made upon the first ascent of Chimborazo on January 4, 1880.

"At 2.30 P.M. we left the summit, and came down as fast as we could,
only stopping a little from time to time to allow Mr. Whymper to collect
rocks at various places. We arrived again at the tent at 5.10 p.m., and found
it covered with the ashes from Cotopaxi, which were still falling, and filled
the whole valleys with a thick cloud. On the 4th July we continued the
tour of the mountain and arrived at night close to Tortorillas, and on the
6th we returned to Riobamba, having had a most successful journey, without
accidents of any sort whatever — not only having made the tour and the
second ascent of Chimborazo, but having also made en route, on the 29th of
June, the ascent of Carihuairazo.

"Guayaquil, July 19, 1880.

(Signed) "Franco. Jr. Campana."

Declared and subscribed at

Guayaquil this twentieth day

of July 1880, Before me

Geo. Chambers,

H.B.M.'s Consul, Guayaquil.

APPENDIX. EXPERIMENTS BY M. PAUL BERT. 437

J.— EXPERIMENTS BY M. PAUL BERT.

The book entitled La Pressioti Barometrique, by Mons. P. Bert, was pub-
lished in 1878, but I refrained from reading or procuring it until after my
return from Ecuador. It did not appear to me likely that the points which
1 desired to investigate could be settled by laboratory experiments, and this
seems also to have been the opinion of M, Bert.^

The general conclusions which are given at the close of the book (pp.
1153-55) in respect to the effects of diminished pressure ^ are : —

1. La diminution de la pression barometrique n'agit sur les etres vivants qu'en
diminnant la tension de Foxygene dans Pair qu'ils respirent, dans le sang qui anime
leurs tissus, et en les exposant ainsi a des menaces d'asphyxie (p. 1153).

2. Les effets fa 'heux de la diminution de pression peuvent etre efficacement combattus
par la respiration d''un air suffisamment riche en oxygene pour maintenir a la valeur normale
la tension de ce gaz (p. ^154).

3. Les etres actuellement existants a Tetat sauvage sur la surface du globe sont
accommodes au degre de tension oxygenee sous laquelle ils vivent : toute diminution,
toute augmentation parait leur etre defavorable quand ils sont ddns Tetat de sante (p.
1155).

These conclusions were arrived at after a very long series of experiments
of various kinds had been made upon birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, etc., from
which it clearly appeared that death can be brought about in these animals
if pressure is reduced rapidly to a low point. Sparrows, for example, were
killed before pressure had been reduced so low as that which reigns at the
summit of Mount Everest. Dogs, it was found, were harder to kill than cats
(p. 738). The various animals exhibited much the same symptoms at these
artificially produced low pressures as human beings at the natural low pressures
which are experienced at great heights ; and, like them, they recovered very
rapidly (even when apparently dying) when pressure was restored.

In further experiments with sparrows, pressure was lowered very rapidly,
and the birds operated upon were reduced to a dying state ; oxygen was then
let in, and the birds revived ; pressure was then still further reduced and the
birds were again made extremely ill,' but recovered by a further introduction
of oxygen ; and the experiments were continued until the atmosphere in
which the birds were confined contained 91 per cent of oxygen, and in that
mixture they lived at a pressure of 75 millimetres, which is less than a third

1 He says in his Preface, "j'ai dfl laisser systematiquement de c6te trois ordres de
questions qui ne pouvaient etre attaquees dans le laboratoire, et pour lesquelles, par suite,
les conditions certaines de la preuve ne pouvaient etre rassemblees ; c'est a savoir : les
oscillations quotidiennes du barometre, les applications therapeutiques, V acdimatement
sur les hauls Heux.''''

2 Numerous experiments at augmented pressures were also made.

438 EXPERI3IENTS BY M. PAUL BERT. appendix.

of that which would be experienced at the top of Mount Everest, and about
one tenth of atmospheric pressure at the level of the sea.

These experiments upon animals were followed by others upon himself.
M. Bert says (p. 749) :—

'•Je ne pouvais evidemment me borner, an moment d'emettre dcs preceptes pratiques
destines aux voyageurs en montagne et aux aeronautes, a des experiences faites sur des
animaux, si convaincantes qu'elles fussent.

"Je resolus de commencer par experimenter sur moi-meme. J'avais deja, dans mes
grands cylindres en tole, subi Finfluence d'assez notables depressions, jusqu'a eprouver
certains malaises. Je pensai alors a m'y soumettre de nouveau, pour faire disparaitre
les accidents en respirant un air suroxygene.

'•Je pla^ais alors ji c6te de moi, dans i'appareil, im grand sac de caoutchouc, con-
tenant un air d'autant plus riciie en oxygene, que la depression devait etre plus forte,"

The first experiment of this nature was made by M. Bert upon himself
on February 20, 1874. He shut himself up in a metal cylinder, with his
bag of oxygen, and had pressure reduced in 35 minutes to 450 millimetres,
and remained at that pressure, or a little lower, during 68 minutes. After
this, air was gradually let in, and in 25 minutes more he returned, so to
speak, to the level of the sea. The lowest pressure to which M. Bert was
subjected on this occasion was about equal to that which reigns at the summit
of Mont Blanc, and before this point was reached he experienced both nausea
and dizziness, and his pulse rose from 64 to 100. He refreshed himself with
oxygen from time to time with beneficial effects, and found that he could
reduce the rate of his pulse, in two minutes, from 90 to 69. This experiment,
from first to last, extended over 128 minutes.

Upon March 9, 1874, a second experiment of this nature was made in
M. Bert's apparatus by MM. Croce-Spinelli and Sivel, and upon this occasion
pressure was reduced in 37 minutes to 304 mm., which is about equal to that
which would be experienced at a height of 24,000 feet above the sea. The
experimenters remained, however, only a very short time under this pressure.
In 7 minutes they returned below what is the equivalent of the height of
Mont Blanc, and in 59 minutes from the commencement of the experiment
returned to the level of the sea. Like M. Bert, they refreshed themselves with
oxygen, but their pulses nevertheless rose to 132 and 135 ; and, at the lowest
pressure, they experienced a sort of drunken sensation, and could neither see
nor hear clearly.

In these two experiments, said M. Bert (p. 758),

"Toxygene n'avait ete employe que d'une maniere intermlttente, pour diminuer pen-
dant qiielques instants la gravite des accidents de la decompression. Je voulus operer un
peu difieremment, laisser arriver les malaises jusqu'a un certain degre, pour respirer alors
d'une maniere continue Pair suroxygene, tout en continuant a diminuer encore la pression
barometrique, et voir ce qui adviendrait."

Before these further laboratory experiments were made, MM. Croce-
Spinelli and Sivel repeated their experiences, this time in balloon, and upon
March 22, 1874, rose until they attained a height of about 24,000 feet. As
iDefore, they took occasional draughts of oxygen ; but they remained a much
greater length of time above the height of Mont Blanc, and were more per-
ceptibly affected, especially M, Croce-Spinelli, who endeavoured to eat at the
greatest elevation. His pulse rose to 140.

APPENDIX, EXPERIMENTS BY M. PAUL BEET. 439

Four and six days later M. Paul Bert made his experiments, Nos. 256
and 357, in which he reduced himself successively to pressures about equiva-
lent to the heights of Chimborazo and of Mount Everest. I am much
indebted to the courtesy of Mons. G. Masson, the publisher of La Pression
Barometrique, for permitting the details of these two experiments to be
reprinted here at full length.

Experience CCLVI. — 28 mars. — J'entre dans I'appareil a 10^ 55^ ; la porte est
fermee a ll** 4°*; j'ai alors 58 pulsations a laminate. Pression barometrique, 761 ™°> ;

ll** 10"^; pression 715'^"^' ; nouls, 62 ;

ll'> 20™; 580™™ ; pouls, 63 ;

11'' 23™; 535"""' ; pouls, 63; quelques sensations nauseeuses ;

ll'i 25"^; 510™™ ; gaz s'e'chappant par en haut et par en bas ;

llh 27™; 495™™; pouls, 66;

l|h 3im. 455mm. pouls, 64; sens ition nauseeuse ; gaz s'echappent, et cependant
le ventre reste un i^eu gonflc ;

11'^ 33™; 435™™ ; pouls, 70 ; I'acte de siffler, que j'exe'eutais tres-bien a la pression
normale, qui etait devenii assez difficile des 520™™, est completement impossible ;

U'' 35™ ; 425™™; pouls, 72 ; un pen de trouble de la vue, qui est moins nette ;

llh 37m. 412™™; pouls, 76; je suis assez mal a mon aise, avec I'cBil un pen
trouble.

Je commence alors a inspirer d'une maniere continue dans le sac plein d'air suroxy-
gene que j'ai k cote de moi ; I'expiration se fait au dehors. Quelques eblouissements
surviennent, puis tout accident disparait, et je me trouve, jusqu'a la fin de I'experience,
dans un etat de bien-etre parfait.

Le pouls, qui etait tombe instantane'ment a 63, s'abaisse encore, quoique la decom-
pression aille en augmentant.

llh 4im . pression, 408™™; 60 pulsations.

11'^ 46-"; 382™™; pouls, 63;

liu 47ni . 380™™ ; (les gaz s'echappent par la bouche et I'anus; bien-etre parfait ;

11*>48"; 369™™; 58 pulsations ; encore gaz ;

111' 51™; 355mm. 59 pulsations;

11'' 52™ ; 350"™ ; encore gaz ;

11'' 55™; 338'"™ ; je fais quelques efforts pour ouvrir et fermer un flacon ; le pouls
monte k 63 ; la pression commence a remonter;

ll"! 59'"; 400™™ ; 60 pul-ations;

Midi ; 440™™; impossible de siffler;

Midi 2™ ; 490™™ ; 60 pulsations ; impossible de siffler ; je cesse de respirer I'air sur-
ox}ge'iie ;

Midi 3™ ; 520'"™ ; impossible de siffler ; 56 pulsations ;

Midi 5™ ; 540™™ ; je commence a pouvoir siffler ;

Midi 7™ ; 570™™ ; je siffle tres-bien ; 59 pulsations ;

Midi 10'"; revenu a la pression normale; 52 pulsations.

Cette experience montre de la maniere la plus nette que les inspirations continues
d'oxygene, apres avoir fait cesser les symptomes facheux, les empechent de reparaitre,
quoique la pression barome'trique contmue a diminuer. II n'est rien de plus probant.
Ln depression atteinte a ete de 338 millimetres, correspondante a la hauteur de 6500™
environ, c'est-k-dire un pen plus que celle du Chimborazo.

Entre autres phenomenes qui ont persiste' nonobstant I'inspiration d'oxygene. parce
qu'ils de'pendent exclusivement de la diminution de densite' de I'air, je citerai les evacua-
tions gazeuses et I'impossibilite' de siffler, qui avait e'te notee dejk dans Texpe'rience pre-
cedente, et dont ne parlent ni les ae'ronautes ni les ascensionnistes ; elle a e'te observee
au-dessous de 500 millimetres.

L'experience suivante, conduite de la meme maniere, est encore plus frappante a
cause de 1 enorme de'pression a laquelle je me suis impunement soumis ;

440 EXPERIMENTS BY 31. PAUL BERT. appendix.

Experience CCLVII. — 30 mars. — J'entre a 10"^ 15™ dans I'appareil ; pression
barome'trique 759™"'. J'ai avec moi un moineau, dont la temperature rectale est 41°,
9, un rat et une bougie.

IQh 22™; on ferme la porte ; 'fv.i 60 pulsations ;

10*> 29™; pression 710™™; 63 pulsations;

IQi^ 34™; 665™™ ; pouls, 64;

IQh 4011 . 640™™ ; pouls, 65 ; je vois apparaitre des bulles de gaz dans I'eau que j'ai
a cote de moi dans un verre ;

lO** 43™; 605™™;

lO** 46™ ; 580™™ ; pouls, 66 ;

555™™; je sitfle assez facilement; la flamme de la bougie bleuit un peu, la meche
s'allonge ; elle est a peu pres la moitie' de la longueur de la flamme ;

510™™; impossible de siffler dans les notes hautes ;

lO'^ 53™; 480™™ ; 70 pulsations ; un peu de malaise;

lO'^ 53™ ; 455™™ ; 78 pulsations ; sentiment de congestion a la tete ; gaz s'echappant
par en haut et par en bas ;

10*^ 58™ ; 430™™ ; pouls, 80 : I'oiseau vomit, parait assez malade, mais reste perche' ;
le rat semble fort tranqnille ;

llh 4iomm . pouls, 86 ; je place devant ma bouche le tube du sac a oxygene, que
la depression a gonfle', et je respire ainsi un melange tres-suroxygene ; j'ai quelques
eblouissements ;

llh 2'" ; 400™™ ; le pouls est tombe a 64 ; I'oiseau vomit de nouveau ; le rat parait
fort anxieux ;

U^ 5™; 378™™ ; 66 pulsations; impossibilite' de siffler;

11^ 91" ; 360™™ ; 72 pulsations ; un peu de malaise, hien que j'aie respire I'oxygene
d'une maniere continue, mais a distance, il est vrai. Je prends alors le tube de de'gage-
ment dans la bouche, sans fermer les narines, et le garde ainsi jusqu'a la fin de I'ex-
perience. Le malaise disparait aussitot ;

ll** 11™; 348™™; 66 pulsations; le moineau a 126 respirations a la minute;

lli> 14™; 323™™ ; 64 pulsations ; le moineau, qui vomit tres-fort, reste cependant
perche ;

llh 17m. 310™™ . j'ai un peu de malaise, avec pouls a 75 ;

llh 19m . 300™™ ; le moineau est fort malade ;

llh 22™ ; 295™™ ; 64 pulsations ; mon malaise a completement disparu ;

llh 24'^; 288™™;

llh 27m J 280™™ ; pulsations, 66 ; la flamme de la bougie est tres-bleue ; la me'che
a environ f de la longueur de la flamme;

llh 33m. 258™™; 70 pulsations; I'oiseau vomit et semble extremement malade,
mais il reste toujours perche ;

llh 34m. 255™™;

llh 35m . 248™"^ ; 64 pulsations ; je laisse augmenter la pression ;

llh 38™ ; 290™™ ; pouls, 63 ;

11'* 40"' ; 340™™ ; la tempe'rature rectale du moineau n'est plus que de 36°, 4 ;

llh 43m. 390™™ ; pouls, 54; je cesse de respirer I'oxygene;

llh 44 m . 420™™ ; impossible de siffler; I'oiseau est toujours bien malade, accroupi
sur son perchoir ;

llh 46m. 480™™ ; impossible de siffler ;

11'^ 47™; 550™™; id.; 66 pulsations ;

11'' 48™ ; 580™™ ; je puis siffler les notes basses, mais non les hautes ;

ll^* 49™; 630™™ ; je siffle tres-bien ;

llh 5ira . revenu a la pression normale ; j'ai seulement 52 pulsations. La tempera-
ture rectale du moineau est 36°, 1 ; celle durat 34° ; la mienne, sous la langue, 36°, 5.

A 3^ 30™, le moineau n'a encore que 38°, 7 dans le rectum.

Voici done une experience dans laquelle je suis arrive en une heure un quart a une
pression minima de 248 millimetres, c'est-a-dire a moins d'un tiers de la pression nor-
male, pendant laquelle je suis re-te 45 minutes au-dessous de 400 millimetres, sans avoir
eprouve de malaise a partir du moment ou j'ai commence a respirer regulierement I'air
suroxygene. Mon pouls est reste des lors a son chiffre normal ; il s'est meme abaisse

APPENDIX. EXPERIMENTS BY M. PAUL BERT. 441

vers la fin, soit a cause du long repos dans la station assise, soit sous Tinfluence dc la
respiration d'un air suroxyge'ne. A cote de moi, un moineau et un rat se trouvaient
fort malades, et leur tempe'rature s'abaissait de plusieurs degre's. Quant a moi, bien
loin de courir un danger, je ne ressentais aucun des inconve'nients le'gers de la decom-
pression, ni I'c'tat nause'eux, ni le mal de tete, ni la congestion a la tete, et je n'en eprouvai
])asdavant ige apres etre sorti de I'appareil. II me semblait meme que j'eusse pu aller
beaucoup plus bas encore, sans nul encombre, et j'y e'tais parfaitement dispose, si mes
pompes a vapeur, fatigue'es du travail, n'eussent refuse' d'e'puiser davantage I'air des
cylindres. Peut-etre dois-je en accuser la complicite des personnes presentes a I'expe'-
rience,qui venaientfie'quemmentme regarder atraversles hublots et, malgre I'aspecttout
a fait naturel de ma physionomie, semblaient fort efFraye'es de me A'oir expose' a cette
enorme diminution de pression. Elle correspondait, en efFet, a plus de 8800 metres,
c'est-a-dire a une hauteur supe'rieure a celle que les voyageurs en montagne et ks ae'ro-
nautes, hormis MM ('oxwel et Glaisher, aient pu atteindre encore. Je n'e'prouvais aucun
malaise a cette pression qui avait failli etre si funeste aux deux intre'pides Anglais, et a
laquelle devaient perir peu de mois plus tard MM. Croce'-Spinelli et Sivel.

These experiments, as a whole, demonstrated that artificially-proditced
diminution of pressure caused effects similar to those v^^hich are experienced
by travellers on the earth, or in balloon^ at great elevations ; and that the
appearance of some of these effects may be retarded, or if they appear that
they may be temporarily driven away, by inspiring oxygen. They also
proved that one may descend with extreme rapidity from great heights
without injurious effects appearing immediately. In his experiment No. 256,
M. Bert made a descent, so to speak, of 15,000 feet in ten minutes ; and in
No. 257 he came down 17,400 feet in nine minutes, in each case, it seemed,
without taking any harm.

Emboldened by the impunity which apparently could be enjoyed by the
use of this simple means, MM. Croce-Spinelli and Sivel, accompanied by
M. Gaston Tissandier, upon April 15, 1875, started iipon another aerial
voyage. The two former died at or about 28,000 feet above the sea, and
M. Tissandier narrowly escaped. In discussing what was the cause of the
death of these two unfortunates, M. Bert says (p. 1061) that the quantity
of oxygen they carried was insufficient for so high an ascent,^ and this may
have been the case ; but it is certain that the immediate cause of the cata-
strophe was not due to exhaustion of their supply, inasmuch as, when the
balloon reached earth again, there was a quantity of oxygen still remaining
in the hallonnets in which it was carried.

The opinion of M. Bert was that no harm would have been taken if
these voyagers had imbibed more oxygen, and he appears to have imagined
that this was proved by the fact that he himself (while inhaling the gas) had
been able to sustain a pressure of 248 mm. ( r= 9 057 inches) for one or two
minutes. This experiment, however, proved no more than that he was able
to live for one or two minutes in air of about one-third the density of that
to which we are accustomed ; and there seems every likelihood, if he had

1 "J'etais alors absent de Paris, et prevenu par une lettre de Croce-Spinelli de leur
prochain voyage, lettre dans laquelle il m'indiquait la qnantite d'oxygene ou'ils allaient
emporter (elle devait etre, je crois, de 150 litres), je liii fis rematquer I'insuffisance.
' Dans les hauts lieux oil cette respiration artificielle vous sera indispensable, lui disais-je,
vous devez compter, pour trois hommes, sur une consommation d'au moins 20 litres par
minute; voyez comment votre provision sera vite epuisee.'"

442

EXPERUIENTS BY 31. PAUL BERT.

APPENDIX.

continued for an hour or two at a pressure of 248 mm., he would have met
with the same fate as his pupils. I contend that no certain conclusions can
be drawn, in regard to this subject, as to the effects which will be produced
in hours from experiments extending over minutes.

Although it has been pointed out that the artificial inhalation of oxygen
was not found necessary at the pressures which are dealt with in this volume,
I by no means decry its use, or entertain the opinion that it is undesirable.
Mischief is unlikely to result from any quantity that a mountain-traveller
Avill be able to imbibe, but it will always be found difficult to take such an
amount as can yield substantial benefit. The most that can be expected
from its employment is that it may " mitigate the distressing symptoms," or,
possibly, slightly retard their appearance. And, although differing from the
conclusions drawn by M. Bert, I take this opportunity to express admiration
for the courage and perseverance with which he prosecuted his experiments ;
and terminate this inadequate reference to his labours by recommending
La JPression Barometrique as a storehouse of interesting facts.

CHIMBORAZO, FROM GUAYAQUIL,

INDEX

Abraspungo, 86, 316, 318-19, 332, 349,

398, 401.
Academicians, 16, 107, 288-93.
Accident to a mule, 285-6.
Acosta, Father Joseph de, 192-3, 375-7.
Aeronauts, Introd., v-vii, 377-80, 382,

438-42.
Agua Clara, 14.

Aguirre family, 127, 159, 184, 205, 217.
Aiguille du Dru, 299, 307.

du Geant, 58.

du Gouter, 229.

du Midi, 58.

Air (see Rarefaction of Air).

Alausi, Village of, 386.

Alchipichi, Hacienda of, 284.

Alcohol, 10.

Alligators, 4.

Aloasi, Village of, 108.

Alpargatas, 143.

Alpine Club, Introd., xii.

Altar, 85-6, 96, 235-6, 296, 302, 304-8,

334, 343, 347, 349, 353, 362-4.
Altitudes (see Greatest Altitudes).

determined in Ecuador, 339, 395-

401.
Amazons, River, 25, 92, 193, 195, 201,

239, 290.
Ambato, basin of, 90, 97, 110.

Bishop of, 96, 116, 356.

Governor of, 87, 91.

population of, 93, 295.

town of, 82-3, 86, 89-97, 104, 178,

302, 316, 327-8, 370, 398, 399,
413-14, 422.
Amphipoda, 117, 361, 363.
Ana, tambo S., 122, 124, 138.
Ancon, 270.
Aneroid Barometers, 33, 38, 56-7, 67,

70, 72, 219-21, 325, 331-2, 344-5,

399, 401, 405-16.
Annelida (see Earth-worms).

Antiquities, 256-8, 268-84.

Antisana, 101, 121, 133, 145, 156, 159,
165, 184-205, 210-15, 224, 228,
230-1, 240, 245, 255, 262, 343,
345-7, 349, 351-3, 359, 363, 370,
372-3, 396, 400, 420, 422, 426-7,
429, 431.

Hacienda of, 41, 184, 186, 188-91,

194, 196, 198-200, 204, 354, 357,
361-3, 365-6, 398, 400, 423.

Antisanilla, Hacienda of, 159,185,188-9,
, 201, 204, 366, 400.

Lava-stream of, 187-9, 199.

Antonio, Village of S., 265-6.

Ants, 10, 355, 362.

Arachnida (see Scorpions and Spi-
ders).

Arenal, the Great, 20, 21, 24, 26, 30-1,
33, 40-3, 76-8, 86, 93, 319, 332-3.

Arriaga, Padre, 275.

Arrieros, 6, 9, 21, 39-40, 159, 208, 309.

Arriero-courier, 47, 60, 62-3, 73.

Ascents, rate of, 32, 66, 70-1, 75, 79,
149, 162, 164, 191, 198, 234-5,
262-3, 298, 317, 331.

Ash, Volcanic (see Volcanic dust).

Atacatzo, 105-6, 108-9, 167, 170, 210,
231, 347.

Atahualpa, 257.

Atlantic Ocean, 239.

Atmospheric pressure (see Pressure).

Avalanches, ice-, 78, 307, 320-1, 338.

snow-, 195, 262.

Azuay, Province of, 294.

Baker, Mr. E. G., 115, 353.

Sirs. W.,418.

Balsabamba, Village of, 11, 15.
Banks in Ecuador, 181-3.
Banos, Village of, 97. 193.
Baquero's Hotel, 98.
Barometer, Aneroid (see Aneroid).

446

INDEX.

Barometer, Mercurial, Introd., x, xii,
33-6, 53-7, 66-7, 69-73, 134, 157,
186, 195-6, 212, 219-21, 230, 232,
244, 249-50, 263, 297-8, 315, 319,
323, 325-7, 330-1, 339, 341, 343-4,
377, 395-8, 402-20.

range of, in Ecuador, 402-4.

Barona, Dr. Abel, 91.

Barraganetal, 14.

Base-line of the Academicians, 288-93.

Bass' Ale, 83, 178.

Bates, Mr. H. W., 10, 112, 116, 137-8,

200, 222, 236-7, 332, 354, 362, 365.
Batrachia, 116, 144, 334, 363.
Battle-axes, 270-1.
Bees (see Hymenoptera).
Beetles (see Coleoptera).
Bellew, Dr., 49.
Bellows, utility of, 51.
Beltran, David (of Machachi), 165, 218,

236, 241, 246, 297, 310-12, 314-15,

317-18, 321, 325, 327, 435.
Benham, Prof. W. B., 112, 351, 362.
Bert, Mons. Paul, Introd., viii, 301,

377-80, 382-3, 437-42.
Biot, Mons., 380.
Bishop of Ambato, 96, 116.

of Rochester, Introd., viii.

Blaine, Mr., 90, 168, 175.

Blanco, Rio, 313.

Bodegas de Babahoyo, 2-6, 15, 360, 391.

Body temperature, 52, 150, 301, 326,

368, 425-7.
Bogota, 284.
Bogs, 160.
Boiling-point observations, 33-4, 253,

417-20.
Bolivar, Province of, 294.
Bolivia, Introd., xi, 270.
Bombs, Volcanic, 138.
Bonds, Ecuadorian, 177.
Bonney, Prof. T. G., 65, 68, 94, 104,

111, 125, 140-1, 164, 189, 194, 212,

234, 242, 249, 263, 288, 297, 306,

316, 319, 329.
Bonpland, Mons. A., 27, 113-14, 365,

428-30.
Borrero, Dr., 174, 267.
Botanical Tables, 352-3.

Botany (see Ferns, Flowering plants.
Fungi, Grasses, Lichens, Mosses).

Bothnia, Gulf of, 288.

Bouguer, Mons., 107, 111, 288.

Boulenger, Mr. G. A., 363.

Boussingault, Mons. J. -D., Introd., xiii,
23, 25, 27, 29-32,41, 76-7, 185-6,
192, 236, 348, 351, 402-4, 431-5.

Glacier de, 349.

Brenchley, Mr., 211, 418.

Brevent, 33.

British Minister at Quito, Introd., xiii,
166, 172-3.

Britten, Mr. James, 352-3.

Brocklehurst, Mr. T. U., Introd., viii.

Bronze, 277-8.

Browning, E. Barrett, 33.

Bruhns, Karl (Life of Humboldt), 28-9,
77, 428-30.

Buckley, Mr., 10.

Buenos Ayres, 336.

Bugs (see Rhynchota).

Butterflies (see Lepidopteraj.

CAAMAjfo, Senor, 175.

Callo, 99, 124, 127, 302.

Camellones, 8, 21, 286.

Cameron, Mr. Peter, 355, 362.

Campana, F. J. (interpreter), 271,295-6,
310-12, 314, 317-18, 321, 325, 327,
334, 386, 389, 391, 435-6.

Cailar, Province of, 294. *

Candelaria, Hacienda of, 303-4, 308,
360, 398, 401.

Canzacoto, 214-15.

Carabourou, Pyramid of, 218, 292.

Carchi, Province of, 294.

Carihuairazo, 23, 85-7, 90, 97, 131, 158,
252, 295, 310-18, 327, 343, 345, 347,
349,352, 363, 372, 401, 415, 423,
426-7, 436.

Carranqui, Village of, 256-7, 265-6, 268,
275.

Carrel, Jean-Antoine, Introd., xii, 6,
26, 34, 50-3, 59, 62, 67, 69, 71, 78-
80, 107, 109, 116, 132, 136, 143,
145, 147, 150-1, 155, 164, 177, 190,
194-5, 197-8, 205. 207, 209-11, 224-
5, 227, 235-6, 241, 244-5, 259, 261,

INDEX.

447

287-8, 297-8, 300, 304, 30G-7, 311,
314, 318-19, 321, 323, 327, 334, 343-
4, 381, 3D2, 396, 435.

Carrel, Louis, Introd., xii, 6, 26, 42,
50, 59, 68, 71, 73, 79, 81-2, 101,
122, 130, 132, 134, 136, 145, 150,
155, 159-60, 165, 209, 211-12, 225,
235, 236, 241, 244, 248, 261, 287,
297-8, 306-7, 311-12, 314, 321, 327,
334, 381, 435.

Carrel, Vallon de, 43, 58, 62, 331-3, 354,
364.

Carrion, Senor J., 173.

Carruthers, Mr. William, 21, 352.

Casella, Mr. Louis, 405, 418, 424.

Catarama, Village of, 86.

Cattle, 198, 202, 204, 244-5, 313.

Cayambe (mountain), 112, 121, 133, 145,
154, 156, 169, 215-16, 217-37, 238-
40, 249, 251, 262, 332, 343, 345-
7, 349, 351, 354-5, 359, 362-5,
370, 372-3, 400, 420, 423, 425-7.

Village of, 180, 218. 222-3, 227-8,

241, 245, 250, 255-6, 266, 398,
400.

Cayandeli, Hacienda of, 387, 401, 415.

Census, 1, 168, 294-5.

Centipedes, 354, 362.

Cevallos (arriero), 160, 164, 218, 241,
258, 265, 285-6, 304, 311, 313, 318,
321.

Chambers, Mr. Gr., Introd., xiv, 2-4,
13, 33-4, 38, 56, 66, 72, 97, 196,
311, 395-6, 402, 405, 421, 436.

Chambo, River, 85, 97.

Chanchan, River, 5, 336.

Chaupi, Hills of, 99, 170.

Chicago, ox-cheek of, 61-2, 83, 207.

Childers, Rt. lion. H. C, Introd., xiv.

Chili, Introd., x, xi, 2.

Chilian Minister, 294.

Chillapullu, 431.

Chillo, 124, 127, 159, 184-5, 205, 215,
255.

Chillogallo, Village of, 208.

Chimbo, 14, 86, 336, 390-1.

Bridge of, 14, 387, 389-90, 401, 415.

River, 4, 5, 13, 20, 86, 105, 323,

327, 336.

Chimbo, Village of S. Jose de, 15, 34,
412.

Chimborazo, 2, 5, 12-14, 20-33. 40-80,
82-7, 90, 93, 110, 114, 121, 131,
156, 158, 172, 193, 198,200-2, 213,
215, 219, 230, 295, 299, 310-13,
316-43, 345-9, 351-5, 357, 362-5,
367-70, 372, 381, 387, 407-9, 425-
36.

the breach, 25-6, 64, 66-7, 77, 338.

first Camp on, 40-2, 331, 399, 412,

414, 423, 425, 427.

second Camp on, 47-59, 76-80, 86,

193, 202, 299, 333-4, 368, 399,

407, 412-14, 423, 425, 427.
third Camp on, 59-60, 63, 66-7, 70,

73-5, 78-9, 193, 321, 333, 369,

372, 395, 399, 407, 413, 414, 423.
fourth Camp on, 318-19, 334, 401,

423.

fifth Camp on, 319, 321-2, 327-8,

332, 401, 415, 423.

sixth Camp on, 333, 401, 427.

seventh Camp on, 311-12, 334.

Arenals of, 20, 21, 24, 26, 30-1, 33,

40-3, 76-8, 86, 93, 319, 332-3.
— crevasses on, 24, 26, 33, 58, 67-8,

327.

flora of, 333-4.

from the Pacific, 2, 20.

glaciers of, 23-5, 30, 58, 67-8, 75-8,

86-7, 319-20, 323, 327, 332, 335,

338.

height of, Introd., xi, 32-3, 71-2,

. 330, 339-43, 399, 401.

lava-streams of, 47, 57, 59, 64, 319.

Map of, 17, 80, 323, 334.

Marquis of, 82, 89, 91.

Northern Walls of, 320-1, 323,

327.

Pacific Ocean seen from, 68, 324.

North-west ridge of, 319, 321-3,

327, 332.

Province of, 294,

Southern Walls of, 25, 64-7, 75-9,

333, 337-8, 369, 372, 399.
Summits of, 23-4, 57, 64, 68-70,

78, 320, 325-9, 337, 339-42, 399,

408, 413-15.

448

INDEX.

Chimborazo, South-west ridge, 25, 4G,
53, 58-60, C4-7, 75, 77, 321.

vallons of, 22, 40, 42-3, 46, 58, 62,

76, 331-3, 354, 364.
Chimii, 277.

Chinchona bark, 13, 243.
Chiribogas of Riobamba, 82, 89, 91, 312.
Chlorate of potash, 49-50, 381.
Chota, Valley of, 214-15.
Christian names, 103.
Chuarpongo, Hacienda of, 223, 400.
Chuquipoquio, Tambo of, 29, 79-90,

120, 311-13, 332-4, 385-6, 399, 408,

413-14, 423.
Church, Mr. G. E., 90, 168, 175-6.
Cloud, cumulus, 74-5, 145.
Cock-fighting, 222-3.
Col du Geant, Introd., x.
Colegio, Hacienda of, 186, 204-5.
Coleoptera, 10, 112, 116-17, 137-8, 169,

176, 200, 213, 222, 236-7, 246, 332,

354, 362, 365-6, 391.
Colias alHcola, 200, 363-5.

dimera, 357, 364-5.

Colin, Mons., 382.

Collanes, Valley of, 303-8, 362, 401,

423.
Colombia, Introd., xiii, 246, 258, 267.
Colon, 407, 412, 414, 427.
Condamine, Mons. de la, 12, 15-17, 33,

107, 110-11, 128-9, 154, 158, 164,

196, 212, 218, 235-6, 287-93, 305,

340-3, 402-3.
Condor, 78, 200-5, 224.
Coral snake, 3.
Corazon, 105, 107-12, 116, 134, 158,

170, 210, 213, 215, 230-1, 343, 345,

347, 351-3, 360, 362-3, 365, 399.
Cordilleras, Parallel, 335-6.
Cornices, tufted, 120, 133-4, 191, 232.
Corredor Machai, 241-50, 353.
Cotocachi (mountain), 99, 133, 169, 231,
256, 258-65, 334, 343, 345, 347,
349, 352, 355-6, 358-9, 364-5,
372-3, 400.

Village of, 178, 259-60, 264-7, 295,

398, 400.
Cotopaxi, 73, 96, 98-9, 110, 121-30, 135-
59, 162, 170, 210, 231, 252-5, 322-

30, 332, 336-7, 343, 345, 347, 349,

353, 370, 372-3, 399, 408, 413,

415, 420, 422-4, 426-7, 433, 436.
Cotopaxi, angles of slopes, 123, 147.
crater of, 121-2, 125-7, 128, 130,

146-54, 210, 252, 322, 324, 330.
dust ejected by, 125, 138, 140-2,

146-7, 153, 326-30.
eruptions of, 125-9, 138, 147, 153-5,

322-30.

fish ejected by ? 252-4.

flames from, 128, 152-3.

glaciers on, 146, 349.

height of, 154-5, 399.

Couloir, 109.

Cousobamba, Village of, 222.

Cowper, W. (quotations from), 117, 246.

Crania, 284.

Crater of Altar, 305-7.

Antisana, 197.

Carihuairazo, 316.

Chimborazo, 337.

Cotocachi, 264.

Cotopaxi, 121-2, 125-7, 128, 130,

146-54, 210, 252.

Pichincha, 209-11.

Sangai, 74.

Crevasses on Antisana, 190-1, 194-5,

197-8, 349.

Carihuairazo, 315.

Cayambe, 231-3.

Chimborazo, 24, 26, 33, 67-8, 327.

liliniza, 132-3.

Sara-urcu, 248-9.

Crickets, 116.

Croce-Spinelli (aeronaut), 378-9, 382,

438, 441.
Crosse & Blackwell, Messrs., 62.
Crustacea, 117, 361, 363, 366.
Cuenca, Town of, 174, 277, 288, 295. .
Currant-bushes, 87, 250, 333.
Cutuchi, River, 97-9, 124, 127, 137, 302.
Cuzco, 270, 274.
Cydo'pium cydopum, 117, 251-5, 363.

Darwin, Dr., Introd., x.

Daule, River, 4.

David (see Beltran).

Day, the late Dr. F., 255, 363.

INDEX.

449

Debris, Glacier de, 17, 58, 73, 76-8, 80,
320, 338.

Vallon de, 43, 58, 7G, 333.

Declaration of F. J. Campafia, 435-6.

Deer, 115, 160, 225.

Demerara, 112.

Depot on Chimborazo, 43.

Diptera, 112, 114, 116, 130, 176, 200,

250, 359-61, 363, 391, 430.
Distant, Mr. W. L., 134, 363.
Dixon, Mr. George, Introd., xiii.
Dogs on Cayarabe, 224-7.

of Machachi, 118-19.

Pedro de Penipe, 314-15, 318,

321-2.
Domingo (arriero), 302, 311-12, 318, 321.

S. de los Colorados, 214-15.

Donkeys, 9, 106-7.

Dormida, la, 238-41, 243, 250, 354-5,

359. 363, 398, 400, 423.
Dragon-flies, 115, 355, 362.
Dress, 148-9.

Dru, Aiguille du, 299, 307.
Druce, Mr. H., 357-8.
Drunkenness, 266.
Duprat, Sefior J. G., 91, 94.
Duran, Village of, 390.
Dykes, 110, 132.
Dysentery, 50, 79.

Earrings, 167, 183.

Earthquakes, 260, 267, 303.

Earthworms, 111-12, 351, 362.

Earwigs, 354-5, 362.

Eaton, Rev. A. E., 363, 366.

Ecuador, President of, Introd., xiii,
172-5, 264, 294.

bonds, 177, 386, 390.

banks in, 181-3.

Ecuadorian loan, Introd., xii.

Eigher, 300.

Ellis, Mr. W., 196, 339, 395-6, 417.

Ensillada, 21, 209-11.

Entomology, 113-17, 134, 137-8, 169,
187, 200-1, 213, 215, 222, 236-7, 239,
246, 297, 332, 354-66, 391.

Equator, 124, 156, 162, 169, 186, 201,
228, 240.

Eruptions of Cotopaxi, 125-9, 138, 147,
153-5, 322-30.

Eruptions of Sangai, 73-5.

Tunguragua, 96-7.

Esmeraldas, 105, 126, 159.

Province of, 16, 258, 294.

River, 124, 228.

Espinosa, Senor Javier, 173.

Senor Jarrin de, 222-4, 227, 229,

231, 236.
Everest, Mount, Introd., viii., 378, 437,

439.
Ewbank, Mr. Thomas, 273, 281.

Falcons, 224.

Ferns, 62, 115, 187, 199, 250, 259, 333,
352.

Fish, 117, 251-5, 363.

Fleas, 98, 100, 303.

Flies (see Diptera).

Flores, Sefior Antonio (Pres. of Ecua-
dor), 175.

Flower, Dr. W. H., 283.

Flowering plants, 21, 87, 111, 115. 144,
199 200, 213, 308, 333-4, 350-3.

Food, Introd., xi, 45, 185.

Forsyth, Sir T. D., 49, 84.

Fossilized bones, 65.

Foxes, 115.

Freshfield, Mr, Douglas, Introd., xiii.,
392.

Frogs, 103, 116.

tree-, 116, 334.

Frost-bite, 71, 81-2, 91.

Fuchsias, 115, 250, 353.

Fungi, 199, 209, 352.

Gaiters, 71, 81.

Galti, Hacienda of, 386, 389, 401.

Garcilasso de la Vega, 239-40, 276.

Gasteren Thai, 307.

Gay-Lussac, Mons., 380.

Geneva, 398.

Gepp, Mr. Antony, 352.

Giacometti (maitre d'hotel), 170-1, 216.

hotel, 166.

Gilliss, Lieut. J. M., 270, 273.
Glacier de Boussingault, 349.

de Debris, 58, 73, 77-8, 80, 320,

338, 349.

de Humboldt, 349.

de Moreno, 87, 349.

450

INDEX.

Glacier de Reiss, 320, 349.

de Spruce, 320, 349.

de Stiibel, 323, 327, 332, 349.

de Thielraann, 58, 62, 07, 349.

de Tortorillas, 349.

Espinosa, 231.

Tschingel, 307.

Glaciers, 348-50.

on Altar, 305, 307, 349.

Antisana, 190-1, 194-5, 197-8, 349.

Carihuairazo, 315-16, 349.

Cayambe, 228-9, 231-3, 349.

Chimborazo, 24-5, 58, 67-8, 75-8,

86-7, 319-20, 323, 327, 332, 349-50.

Cotocachi, 264, 349.

Cotopaxi, 146, 349.

Illiniza, 132-3, 297-8, 349.

Sara-urcii, 244, 247-9, 349.

Sincholagua, 160-2, 349.

Glaisher, Mr. J., Introd., vii, 35, 424,

441.
Gobierno (tambo), 13-15, 38, 187, 399,

407, 412, 414.
God in, Mons., 288, 402.
Godman & Salvin, Messrs., 200, 357,

363-4.
Godoy, Senor J. (Chilian Minister), 294.
Gold, 92, 155, 181, 240, 266, 269, 277.
Gordonstown (Jamaica), 406.
Gorham, Rev. H. S., 116, 213, 222, 246,

354, 362.
Gosset, Mr. P. C, 195.
Goiiter, Aiguille du, 229.
Graham, Mr. W. W., Introd., viii.
Grande, Rio, 105, 158, 160, 185.
Grasses, 87, 160, 198-9, 242, 244, 246,

248, 264, 333, 352.
Graves, 282-4.
Greatest altitudes for Batrachia, 363.

Beetles, 213, 332, 362, 365-6.

Butterflies, 200, 357, 363-5.

Centipedes, 354, 362.

Crustacea, 361, 363, 366.

Cumulus cloud, 145.

Earthworms, 112, 351, 362.

Ferns, 62, 333, 352.

Flies, 361, 363.

Flowering plants, 111, 144, 199,

250, 333-4, 350-3.
Fuchsias, 250, 353.

Greatest altitudes for Fungi, 209, 352.

Grasses, 264, 352.

Hymenoptera, 356-7. 362.

• Lichens, 76, 333, 350, 352.

Mosses, 264, 316, 333, 350-2.

Moths, 358-9, 363.

night passed at, 157.

Phasmas, 355, 362.

position determined on the spot

by instruments, Introd., x.

Reptiles, 363.

Rhynchota, 134, 361, 863.

Scorpions, 107, 363.

Spiders, 360, 363.

Gregorio (of Machachi), 142, 165.

Gregory, Mr. J. R., 328.

Gringos, 92, 99, 100, 173, 221, 227.

Guachala, Hacienda of, 217, 222-3, 366,
398, 400, 408, 421.

Gualea, 214-15.

Guallabamba, Ravine of, 127, 218-21,
400, 409, 413, 423.

Rio de, 185, 228.

Village of, 221-2, 400.

Guaraani, 185.

Guamote, Village of, 86, 386, 389, 401.

Guanaxuato, Mines of, 341.

Guaranda, 12-15, 18-39, 46-7, 51-2, 60,
62-3, 73, 79, 83, 105, 178, 295, 311,
319, 323, 325, 332, 336, 398, 399,
407, 412, 414, 427, 436.

Guard, 60, 62-3.

Guayaquil, Introd., xiv, 1-4, 12-14, 16-
18, 20, 22, 33-4, 36, 38, 56, Q>Q, 71-2,
97, 125, 129, 173-5, 178, 180-2, 203,
221, 230, 232, 244, 250, 263, 283,
293, 295, 311, 339, 354, 366, 385,
387, 390-1, 395-6, 402, 405, 407,
410-12, 414-15, 421, 425, 427, 436!

Guayas, Province of, 294.

River, 3-5, 354, 358, 366.

Gunzberg, Baron Gabriel de, 203.

Guyot, Dr. Arnold, 289, 396,

Hacienda, 82.

Hail, 29, 84, 112, 134, 143-4, 162, 194,

261.
Hall, Colonel, 29, 76, 348, 433.
Hamilton, Mr. Douglas-, Introd., xiii,

166, 172-3, 180.

INDEX.

451

Hassaurek, Mr. F., 176, 218.
Headache, 49, 52, 61, 150, 368-70, 374.
Hebrides, 249.
Henderson, Dr., 49.
Herschell, Sir John F. W., 424.
Heuer, Mr. Edmund, Introd., xiii.
Hicks, Mr. J. J., 395, 397, 425.
Highest-point tables, 112, 352-3, 362-3.
Himalayas, Introd., viii, x, xi.
Hooker, Sir Joseph, 419-20.
Hotels, 11, 98, 170-1, 268, 391.
Huayna-Capac (Inca monarch), 266,

277.
Humboldt, Alex, von, Introd., x, xi, 23,
25, 27, 38, 72, 76-7, 113-14, 123,
129, 189, 201, 205, 212, 236, 251-
5, 334, 340-2, 348, 351, 428-30,
432-3.

Glacier de, 349.

Humming-birds, 214-15.
Hutantaqui, Village of, 265-6.
Hymenoptera, 96, 116, 200, 355-7, 362,

391.

Ibarra, Town of, 257-8, 265, 267-8, 283,
288, 295, 366.

Ibi Gamin (Kamet), Introd., x, 419.

Ice-axes, 163-4, 322, 327.

Ice-traffic, 22.

Icicles, 75, 297-8.

Hliniza, 99, 105, 107-8, 130-4, 162, 210,
231, 233, 235-6, 258, 287, 295, 297-
9, 343, 347, 349, 356, 361-3, 370,
372-3, 399-401, 408-9, 413-15. 423,
426-7.

Iltaqui, Hacienda of, 259-60, 400.

Human, Village of, 265.

Imbabura, Province of, 256-8, 265-7,
276-7, 281, 284, 294.

(mountain), 228, 231, 252, 256,258,

265, 347.

Incas, 237, 257, 266, 270, 277.

Inca's house, 302.

Indians, 9, 39-40, 60-2, 83, 87, 98, 177-8,
205, 214, 227, 239-40, 264-7, 271,
274-6, 278-9, 282, 295, 311.

Inscribed stones, 287, 290-2.

Insects (see Entomology).

Isco, River, 187-8.

Jacoby, Mr. M., 117, 354, 362.
Jamaica, 406, 412, 427.
Jambeli, bridge of, 105, 297.
Jameson, Dr. W., 112, 168, 230.
Jarrin, Pointe, 231-4, 259.
Jefo-politico, 22, 60, 119, 222-3, 227,

245, 255, 268, 303.
Jipipapa, Town of, 295.
Jones, Mr. (of Quito), 180.
Jose, S. de Chimbo, 15.
Juan & Ulloa, 33, 128, 274-5, 288, 290,

340-2.

Kamet (Ibi Gamin), Introd., x.
Karakorum range, 49.
Kirby, Mr. W. F., 362.
Krakatoa, 154, 339.

Lace made by Indians, 178.
Ladak, 378.

Land, value in Ecuador, 304-5.
Latacunga, 97-8, 105, 124-7, 129, 178,
295, 302, 398, 399.

ladies of, 98, 101.

Lava, 43, 47, 57, 64, 65, 67, 78, 110, 111,

123, 126, 138, 140, 145, 146, 148,

153, 189, 194, 263, 319, 336-8.
Lava-streams, 64-5, 187, 189, 194, 319,

327, 337.
Leon, Province of, 294.
Lepidoptera,10, 113-15, 117, 200-1, 239,

297, 357-9, 361, 363-5, 388, 430.
Lice-eating, 10, 98, 101.
Lichens, 76, 111, 144, 169, 189, 199, 213,

250, 264, 308, 316.
Lightning, 144, 147, 162-4, 170.
Lima, 270, 294.

Limpiopongo, Plain of, 124, 137.
Litter, 87-8, 90.

Livingstone's Last Journals, 418.
Lizards, 103, 115, 176, 218.
Llamas, 96, 297.
Llanganati, mountains of, 97, 106, 110,

342, 347.
Lloa, Village of, 208, 215.
Loads, 6, 47, 132.
Loja, Town of, 295.

Province of, 294.

Loma, tambo, 11, 12, 15, 399.

452

INDEX.

Lopez, Senor, 135.

Lorenzo (of Machachi), 108-9, 165.

Machachi, 95, 97, 99-119, 124-5, 130,
134, 136, 138-9, 141-2, 155, 158,
160, 165, 218, 254-5, 257, 287,
296, 298, 300-2, 313, 328, 358,
361-3, 398, 399, 404, 408, 409,
413-15, 422, 427.

basin of, 99, 101, 105, 114, 185,

207, 355.

Machangara, River, 207.

Macheta, 182, 304, 312.

Magdalena, Village of, 208.

Maize-heads in stone, 274-5.

Malchingi, Village, 284, 286.

Maldonado, Don Pedro, 12, 15-17.

map, 12, 15-17, 158, 240.

Manabi, Province of, 173, 294.

Maps of Ecuador, 12, 15-18, 339.

Marcet, Dr. W., 49.

Massee & Murray, Messrs., 209, 352.

Masson, Mons. G,, Introd., viii, 439.

Mathews, Mr. C. E., Introd., xii.

Maximum temperatures (see Tempera-
tures).

Medios, 181.

Menten, Father J. B., 93, 168, 403.

Mera, Senor J. L., 173.

Mexico, Introd., viii, 341, 348,354.

Miguel, S. (village), 15.

Millipedes, 354.

Mindo, 214-15.

Minimum temperatures (see Tempera-
tures).

Minister, British, Introd., xiii, 166,
311.

Chilian, 294.

for Foreign Affairs, 91-2.

Mitten, Mr. G., 352.

Mocha, Village of, 30, 83, 87, 90-1, 312,
398, 401, 431.

Mojanda, 169, 218, 228, 231, 255-6, 265,
284-5.

Mona, la (Village of), 7, 10, 11, 15.

Money, 181-2.

Monk's Valley, 224, 229-30.

Mont Blanc, Introd., ix, 33, 58, 263,
380, 419, 431, 438.

Montenegro, Lieut.-Col., 22.
Montufar, Sefior Carlos, 27, 114, 428-9.
Moraines, 191, 194, 229, 249.
Moreno, Garcia (Pres. of Ecuador), 90,
173-4, 265, 267, 403.

Assassination of, 174.

Glacier de, 87, 349.

Morphos, 10, 388.

Mosses. 76, 111, 134, 145, 169, 230, 239,

250, 308, 316, 333-4, 350-2, 430.
Moths (see Lepidoptera).
Mountain - sickness, Introd., v-xi, 26,

43-4, 48-53, 59, 61, 67, 70, 84-5,

120-1, 157, 330-1, 366-84, 429, 431,

434, 437-42.
Muiscas, 284.

Mulalo, Village of, 126-7, 129-30, 302.
Mules, 6, 42, 46-7, 76, 79, 159-60, 208,

285-6, 309.
Muiiapamba, Village of, 10-12, 15, 38,

187, 399, 407, 412, 414.
Musquitoes, 360, 391.
Myriopoda, 354, 362.

NaxVegal, 214-15.

Nanti, Village of, 85, 386, 389, 401.
Napo, River, 124, 193, 215.
Naranjal, Valley of, 307-8, 401, 423.
Neuroptera, 115, 355, 362.
Newcastle (Jamaica), 406.
Nocturnal Minima (see Temperatures).
Nono, 18, 214-15.

Northern Walls of Chimborazo. 320-1,
323, 327.

Obertf, Paul, 93.

Ocampo, Hacienda of, 400.

Olalla, Hacienda of, 291.

Oliver, Prof. D., 242, 352.

Olliff, Mr. A. S., 116-17, 213, 236, 332,

354, 362, 365.
Oltmanns, Prof. J., 340.
Opossums, 115.
Orellana, 239-40.
Oriente, Province of, 258, 294.
Ornamentation of Pottery, 280.
Oro, Province of, 294.
Orthoptera, 354, 362, 391.
Orton, Prof. J., 117, 201, 205.

INDEX.

453

Osten Sacken, Baron C. R., 359, 363.
Otovalo, 178, 180, 218, 250, 258, 200,

265-0, 208, 284, 295.
Outfit, 40.

Owen, Sir Richard, 05.
Ox-ciieek of Ctiicago, 61-2, 83, 207.
Oxygen, Introd.. viii, 49, 377-80, 382,

* 437-42.
Oyambaro, Pyramid of, 291-2.

Pablo, Lake S., 205.

Pacific Ocean, 2, 12, 20, 68, 105, 124-5,

201, 239, 322, 324, 328.
Range of Ecuador, 5, 12-14, 21, 80,

100, 323, 335-0, 407.
Pamir, 378.
Panama, 1, 10, 17, 125, 293, 391. 420-7.

baggage-smashers, 283.

hats, 101, 421.

Panecillos, 99, 117, 134, 109, 208, 200.
Papallacta, 193, 217, 239, 251.
Paraffin-oil, 243.
Paramos, 90, 99, 297, 312, 380.
Pasochoa, 101, 105-0, 158, 170, 185,205,

231, 330, 355.
Passports, Introd., xiv.
Pastassa, River, 85, 97, 193.
Patate, River, 97.
Pazmino, Senor, 22, 37, 39.
Pedregal, Hacienda of, 105, 130, 155,

158-9, 104, 355, 302, 398, 399.

Rio, 159.

Penipe, Village of, 85, 303-4, 308-9, 300,

398, 401.

Pedro de, 814-15, 321-2.

Perring, Mr., 2, 51, 58, 00, 02, 70, 73,

79, 80, 98, 130, 184, 257, 308.
Peru, Introd., xi, 2, 239-40, 270-1, 274-

77, 289, 370.
Peso, 181.

Phasmas, 110, 335, 355, 302.
Photography, 37, 189, 240, 320.
Pichincha, 94, 100-7, 112, 150, 104,

100-7, 170, 201, 207-15, 230-1,

332, 334, 330, 342-3, 345, 347,

352, 354-0, 358-00, 302-0, 400,

423, 427-9.

Province of, 258, 294.

Pifo, Village of, 185, 217, 291.
Pike's Peak, 299.

I Pilalo, 215.
Pills, 294.

Pimelodus cyclopum, 251-5.
Piiiantura, Hacienda of, 185, 187-8,201.

204, 306.
Pintac, Village of, 180-7, 204.
Pita, Rio, 124, 180-7, 159, 104, 185-0.
Pizarro, Gonzalo, 239-40, 250.
Pizarros, 270.

Plagemann, Dr. A., Introd., viii.
Plantamour, Prof., 898.
Piatt, of Oldham, 205.
Playas, Hacienda of, 9, 11. 15.
Pocock, Mr. R. I., 354, 300, 302-3.
Police, Commissary of, 22, 37, 39.
Ponchos, 102, 241.

Population in Provinces of Ecuador,
294.

in Towns of Ecuador, 295.

Portillo Pass, Introd., x,

Porto-viejo, 295.

Potash, chlorate of, 49-50, 381.

Pottery, 200, 277-80.

Prescott on Chimborazo, 20.

Presidents of Ecuador, 172-5, 207, 292.

Pressure, Atmospheric, Introd., v-xii,

33-0, 38, 44-5, 51-3, 57, 70, 84-5,

149-50, 330-1, 344-5, 307 84.
Prices, 39, 83, 178-80.
Priests, 22, 175, 259, 264, 208, 295.
Provinces of Ecuador, 294.
Provisions, 45-0.
Puela, 215.

Puengasi ridge, 105, 107, 184-5.
Pulse, rate of, 301, 308-9, 374, 377-82,

438-40.
Pumas, 115, 229, 243.
Pumice, 94-5, 104, 212.
Putnam, Dr., 254-5.
Pyramids of Quito, 287-93.
Pyrenean mastiffs, 119.

Quartz, 245, 249.

Quebradas, 108, 108, 218-19, 259-60.

Quicksand, 313.

Quinine, 22, 180, 243.

Quito, 5, 15-17, 24, 99, 107, 112, 124-5,
105-85, 187, 203, 205-9, 214, 210-
19, 220-1 , 230, 239, 251, 257, 205-7,
280, 288, 290-1, 295, 309, 328, 842-

-454

INDEX.

3, 348, 389, 391, 398, 399, 402-4,

408-10, 413, 415, 421-2, 427-8,

430.
Quito, Bank of, 181-3.

Basin of, 105, 167.

Hotel at, 166, 170-1.

ligliting of, 206.

Observatory at, 217, 403, 421-2.

Omnibus, 97.

Panecillo of, 169-70, 217, 362, 399,

410.

population of, 167-8, 295.

Road, 2, 6, 7, 8, 20, 90, 97-9, 105,

173-4, 187, 296, 299-302, 311-12,

316, 334, 360, 386.

water-carrier at, 168-9.

Quitu, 239-40, 277.
Quixos, 239-40.

Racines, Antonio (of Machachi), 100,
117-18, 141, 165, 254, 287.

Railway, the Ecuadorian, 135, 385, 387,
389-91.

Trans-Andean, 336.

Raisin, Miss C, 94, 104.

Range in altitude, 112-13, 350, 357-8,
364-6.

Rarefaction of air, Introd., vi, viii, 44,
46-53, 66, 70, 121, 149-50, 370, 377,
380-3.

Rates of speed, 27, 31-2, 66, 70-1, 75,
79, 149, 155, 162, 164, 191, 198,
234-5, 262-3, 298-301, 317, 325, 331,
344, 369-74.

Reals, 181.

Rebolledo, SenorRafael, 188-9, 204, 291.

Recurring species, 112, 213, 361, 364-6.

Reed-pipes, 116, 119.

Regnault's Tables, 417.

Reiss, Dr. W., 186.

Reiss, Glacier de. 320.

Reiss & Sttibel, Doctors, Introd., xiii,
33, 73, 96, 110, 129, 131, 154, 158,
186, 196-7, 212, 230, 235, 270, 297,
305, 321, 341-3, 349, 398, 410.

Remy, Mons. Jules, 210-11, 418.

Rendle, Mr. A. B , 352.

Reptilia, 3-4, 103, 115, 176, 218, 363.

Respiration, 30, 31, 49, 52, 150, 367-70,
374-5, 379-84, 431, 433.

Revolutions in Ecuador, 173-5, 180.

Rhynchota, 10, 112, 134, 176, 200, 361,
363, 391.

Riobamba, 30, 82, 85-7, 91, 105-6, 166,
255, 268, 276, 293, 295, 302-3,
308-12, 328, 340-1, 346, 385-7,
389-90, 398, 401-2, 422, 431-2, 436.

Rios, Province of, 294.

River Amazons, 25, 92, 193, 195, 201,
239, 290.

Blanco, 313.

Chambo, 85, 97.

Chimbo, 4,5,13,20,86,105,323,327.

Daule, 4.

Esmeraldas, 124, 228.

Grande, 105, 158, 160, 185.

Guallabamba, 185, 228.

Guayas, 3-5, 354, 366.

Isco, 187-8.

Jorge, S., 10.

Machangara, 207,

Napo, 124, 193, 215.

Pastassa, 85, 97, 193.

Patate, 97.

Pedregal, 159.

Pita, 124, 136-7, 159, 164, 185-6.

Yaguachi, 4-5.

Roads, 89-90, 97-9, 187.

the Royal, 8-12, 187.

Rochester, Bishop of, Introd., viii.

Rocks, descriptions of, 65, 67-8, 164,
189, 194, 212, 230, 234, 242, 249,
263, 286-7, 297, 306, 315-16, 319.

Rosa, farm of S., 93.

Rosario, Hacienda de la, 122-4, 130-1,
134, 153, 399, 408, 413-14.

Ruminahui, 99, 101, 105, 110, 116, 136,
145, 158, 170,231,336,343,347,355.

Rycaut, Sir Paul, 239.

Salisbury, Marquis of, Introd., xiii.

Salvias, 115.

Sanancajas, Paramo of, 90, 312.

Sand, Volcanic, 43, 140.

Sangai, 73-5, 96, 131, 153, 156, 235-6,

252, 304, 336-7, 383, 387.
Sara-urcu, 236, 242-51, 307, 327, 343,

345-7, 349, 400, 423.
Saussure, Mons. H. B. de, Introd., ix,

X, 380-1.

INDEX.

455

Savaneta, Village of, 9, 11, 15.
Schlagintweits (the Travellers), Introd.,

X, xi, 419-30.
Sclater, Dr. P. L., 214.
Scorpions, 107, 176, 360, 363, 391.
Scott, Mr. R. H., 396.
Shakespeare, quotation from, 260.
Sharp, Dr. D., 116, 354, 362.
Sherry, Dry, 93.
Shoes, 39-40, 143.
Sibambe, Village of, 386, 390-1.
Sincholagua, 101, 124, 145, 157-64, 170,

185, 231, 233, 343, 347, 349, 352.
Sivel, Mons. (aeronaut), 378-9, 382, 438,

441.
Slater, Mr. Daniel, 206.
Smyth, Prof. Piazzi, 302.
Snakes, 3-4.
Snow, 29, 30, 58, 64-5, 68-70, 73, 109,

132-3, 142, 146, 160, 162, 190-2,

194-5, 213, 228, 248-9, 261-2. 298,

305, 308, 315, 321-2, 325-7, 342,

346-8.
Snow-blindness, 59, 71, 192-3, 318.
Snow-cornices, 120, 133-4, 191, 232, 298,

315.
Snow-line, 86, 110, 327, 346-8.
Snow-spectacles, 192, 206, 314.
Snow-storms, 84, 225, 243, 261, 298.
Sol, 181.
Southern Walls of Chimborazo, 25, 64-

7, 75-9. 333, 337-8, 369, 372.
Spiders, 112, 115-16, 169, 243, 360, 363,

391.
Springs, 160.
Spruce, Mr. R., 12-13, 73, 349.

Glacier de, 320, 349.

Spurs, 102.

Spy, the, 240-1, 243, 246.

Squier, Mr. E. George, 270, 275.

Stars in stone, 268-71.

Steam-blasts, 74-5, 147, 150, 153-4, 330.

Stebbing, Rev. T. R. R., 118, 363.

Stevenson, Mr. W. B., 18.

St. Bernard, 398.

St. John, Mr. Alfred, Report by, 267,

294, 390-1.
St. Thomas, 426-7.
Stone Age, 256, 268.
Stone implements, 256, 258, 268-77.

Strachan, Mr. R., 396-7.

Stragglers, 113-14, 134.

Stubel, Glacier de, 323, 327, 332, 349.

Sucre, 181.

Sulphur, 338.

Sunda, Straits of, 339.

Surinam, 112.

Tambillo ridge, 101, 105, 166-7.

Tambos, 10-11, 193. .

keeper at Machachi, 99, 100, 117-

18, 141, 165, 254, 287.

Tambo of S. Ana, 122, 124, 138.

Balsabamba, 11.

- — Chuquipoquio, 29, 79-80, 120, 311-
13, 332-4, 385, 399.

— Gobierno, 13-15, 38, 187, 399, 407,
412, 414.

Loma, 11, 12, 15, 399.

Machachi (see Machachi).

Munapamba, 11.

Playas, 11.

Savaneta, 11.

Tortorillas, 21, 24, 31, 40, 83, 86,

332-4.

Tapia, Plateau of, 341.

Teall, Mr. J. J. H., 189.

Temperatures, 15, 22, 41, m, 70-1, 134,
142-3, 148, 160, 170, 186, 194,
196, 212, 221, 230, 232-3, 238,
244-6, 249-50, 253, 263, 297-8,
300-1, 313, 315, 319, 321, 323,
325-6, 346, 396-8, 421-4.

body, 52, 150, 301, 326, 425-7.

highest observed in the interior,

221, 422.

lowest observed, 149, 422.

maxima, 84, 221, 300, 421.

minima, 40, 41, 52, 59, 61, 84,

149, 194, 210, 237, 297, 300,
306-8, 311, 313, 319, 321, 421.

Table of Nocturnal Minima, 423.

on summits, 70, 110, 149, 196, 212,

233, 249, 263, 315, 325, 345-6.

Teneriflfe, 302.

Tent, 59, 261-2, 327-8.

Tetons, 299.

Theakston, Mr. J., 6.

Theodolite, 24, 110, 259.

stand, 55-6.

456

INDEX.

Thielmann, Freilierr von, Introd., xiii,
130, l;J8-9, 349.

Glacier de, 58, 62, 67, 349.

Thermometers, boiling-point, 33-4.
Thunderstorms, 78, 84, 101, 116, 134,

136, 143, 162-4, 170, 186.
Tibet, 378.
Tissandier, Mons. Gaston (aeronaut),

379, 441.
Tiupullo ridge, 97, 99,105,122,170, 399.
Torre, Senor T. Gomez de la, 267-8,

283, 366.
Tortorillas, Glacier de, 349.

Tambo of, 21, 24, 31, 40, 41, 43, 83,

86, 332-4, 354, 357, 362-4, 436.

Vallon of, 43, 76.

Towns in Ecuador, 295.

Trans- Andean Railway, 336.

Treasures, 23, 92, 155,' 240, 305.

Trotter, Col. H., 84.

Truxillo, 277.

Tschingel Glacier, 307.

Tnlcan, 258, 295.

Tumbaco, Plain of, 106, 167, 185, 215,

217-18, 355-6, 363.
Tumuli, 266.

Tunguragua, 24, 30, 85, 96-7, 126, 156,
215, 252, 336-7, 343, 348-9.

Province of, 294.

Tupac (Inca monarch), 277.

Utu5?ac, Village of, 307.

Val Tournanche, Introd., xii, 308.

Valenciana, Mine of, 341.

Valparaiso, 336.

Vase-busts, 281.

Veintemilla, President of Ecuador,

Introd., xiii, 172-5, 264, 294, 389-

90.

Pointe, 172, 326.

Velasco, Don Juan de, 251, 266.

Ventanas, Village of, 86.

Venezuela, 112.

Verbenas, 115.

Verbeek, Mr. U. D. M., 339.

Verity, Mr. (interpreter), 180, 184, 188,

192, 205-6, 209, 218, 227, 229, 236,

241, 245-6, 258,261, 265, 285, 294-5.
Vertical range, 113.

Villavicencio, Dr. Manuel, 12, 193, 209,

236, 251.
Volcanic dust, 43, 94-5. 103-4, 111, 125,

140-2, 146-8, 153, 230, 326-30, 336,

346.
Volcanic eruptions, 73-5, 94-5, 96-7,

103-4, 122-9, 138, 147, 153-4, 251,

264, 322-30.
Volcanoes, 74-5, 94-6, 121-30, 136-55,

164, 197, 210, 263-4, 266, 304-5, 313,

322-30, 336-9.

Wagner, Dr., 93.

Water, 14, 168.

Water-carrier at Quito, 168-9.

Waterhouse, Mr., 10.

Weasels, 115.

Weather, 10-11, 25, 29. 32, 45, 63, 66,

78, 84, 112, 116, 130-1, 134-5, 136,

143, 155, 186-7, 194, 208, 216, 225,

244-6, 298, 306-8, 314.
Wetterhorn, 315.
Whistles, Indian musical, 281.
White, Mr. Adam, 10.
White Valley, 229-30.
Wiener, Mons. C, 270, 274.
Wilson, Mr. J. S.. 203.
Wind, 66, 69, 75, 78, 123, 146, 148, 233,

261, 297-8, 300, 306, 308. 322, 325.
Wine, virtues of, 50, 207.
Wisse,M., Boiling-point obs. by, 419-20.
Wolf, Dr., 127, 129, 130.
Wood-lice, 363, 366.

Yacu-larca, 313, 318.
Yaguachi, River, 4, 5.

Village, 390-1 .

Yambo, Village, 97.
Yanasache lava, 138, 145.
Yana-urcu, 218.
Yarkund, 49, 84.
Yarouqui, Plain of, 218.

Zamborondon, 5.

Zinc, Sulphate of, 59, 192, 318.

Zoology (see Arachnida, Batrachia,
Coleoptera, Crustacea, Diptera,
Earthworms, Fish, Frogs, Hymen-
optera, Lepidoptera, Reptilia,
Rhynchota, Spiders, etc.)

FAC-SIMILE OF THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE MAP OF THE PROVINCE OF QUITO, BY DON PEDRO MALDONADO, 1730.

V-

SCBIBNEfi'S SONS,